Escambia County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Escambia County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jun 19, 2021Tornado$3.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado first touched down on Jay Road just west of Highway 41 in Riverview. The tornado intensified and widened as it moved northeast into East Brewton, crossing over|Highway 41. During this time, the tornado produced EF-1 intensity damage to numerous trees, homes, businesses in the area. Some of the most severe damage was located at the intersection of Forrest Avenue and Andrew Jackson Street where several mobile homes were completely destroyed. This was rated as EF-2 intensity damage with peak estimated winds of 125-130 mph. There was also significant roof damage to the auditorium at W S Neal High School. The tornado continued northeast and moved across Shoffner Street.…

2. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$2.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down approximately one half mile west of Damascus Road and quickly widened to near 300 yards and strengthened to EF-2 intensity. Near and along Damascus Road the tornado destroyed one wood frame home, and severely damaged or affected several other brick homes and adjacent manufactured homes. The tornado rolled one single-wide manufactured home onto its roof trapping the occupants inside for several minutes. Several minor injuries were reported. The tornado continued east crossing Eddie Jackson Road, Hoomesville Road, and Brooklyn Road where trees were snapped or uprooted along a 200 yard wide path. The tornado continued moving east into Conecuh County. Alabama…

3. Mar 8, 1998Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A slow moving complex weather system moved through southwest Alabama on March 8, bringing with it copious amounts of rainfall. The Mobile WSR-88D estimated rainfall totals of six to ten inches across the area on March 8 with Brewton recording 9.54 inches. Some areas in north Baldwin county estimated up to fifteen inches of rain with Covington county estimating up to twelve inches of rain. The heavy rains began on the evening of March 7 and continued through the night before tapering off on the afternoon of March 8. The heaviest rainfall fell from midnight until around noon on March 8. The heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding across the area. The flooding began in Mobile…

4. Dec 14, 2009Flash Flood$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rain produced widespread flash flooding in Atmore. Numerous homes, businesses, and roads were flooded. Several cars were stranded in the streets of downtown Atmore.

5. Mar 12, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A line of severe thunderstorms produced an intense and well defined bow echo, or downburst, over the northwestern part of the county. The extremely high downburst winds, estimated to be around 100 mph, produced extensive damage in the Little River State Forest Park. Media reports indicated several hundred acres of pine forest was destroyed. It was noted that the downed pine timber in the Little River State Park possessed some of the largest known diameters of any of the downed trees in the 3/12/01 severe weather outbreak that occurred over Southwest Alabama. A Park Ranger was severely injured when the vehicle he was in was crushed by one of the falling trees. The same line of…

6. Feb 15, 2016Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado was produced from an isolated supercell thunderstorm. The tornado moved northeast out of Escambia County Florida and into Escambia County AL just east of Flomaton. EF-2 intensity damage was surveyed on Old Fannie Road. The tornado continued northeast toward Pollard where it weakened and lifted. Extensive tree damage was noted with numerous softwood and hardwood trees either uprooted or snapped. Several power poles were also snapped.

7. Feb 17, 2008Tornado$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong EF-2 tornado first touched down over a heavily forested area about 5 miles southwest of Dixie and then moved northeast across the forest crossing highway 29 just to the west of Dixie. The tornado then continued northeast across heavily forested areas moving into western Covington county 3.1 miles northeast of Dixie. Significant tree damage occurred along the track of the tornado with structural damage confined to the populated area of Dixie. Three homes were destroyed in Dixie and two large towers were damaged. Two occupants of one of the homes that was destroyed in Dixie got into an interior bathroom on the lowest floor of the two story house and covered themselves with…

8. Dec 14, 2009Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding along the Burnt Corn Creek and Murder Creek resulted in major flooding of downtown businesses in Brewton. Estimates from Escambia Emergency Management Agency and the State of Alabama Emergency Management Agency indicate 400,000 U.S. Dollars in property damage to the downtown Brewton area due to flood waters.

9. Sep 25, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Escambia$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time in less than a month, the area was again threatened by a hurricane. Hurricane Georges affected the region September 25 through the 29. The coastal areas from Dauphin Island to east of Destin were put under a hurricane watch at 900 AM CST, September 25. A hurricane warning was issued for the area at 900 AM CST, September 26. The hurricane warning was changed to a tropical storm warning for the area at 300 PM CST, September 28. All tropical storm warnings for the area were dropped at 900 AM CST, September 29.Georges made landfall along the Mississippi coast near Biloxi between 300 and 500 AM CST, September 28.Some of the winds recorded across Southwest Alabama…

10. Dec 14, 2009Flood$362,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Significant water level rises along the Big Escambia Creek due to persistent heavy rains falling in the river basin resulted in significant flooding of several homes and businesses in the northern sections of Flomaton. Estimates from local Emergency Management, Federal Emergency Management officials, and the State of Alabama Emergency Management Agency estimate damages from flood waters in Flomaton near 362,000 U.S. Dollars.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

105°FJul 24, 1952

All-time low

1°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

88°FJun 13, 1952

Coldest day

21°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1989

Wettest day

12.10 inApr 13, 1955

Snowiest day

5.0 inJan 22, 2025

Hottest year

2019mean 69.2°F

Coldest year

1989mean 63.8°F

Wettest year

201790.15 in

Driest year

195433.93 in

Station Atmore (USC00010402), 300 ft elevation, 11.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1940 to October 27, 2026; 98.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00010402.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.