Fayette County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Fayette County: 6.
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.

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.

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 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. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$6.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The fifth segment of this long track tornado entered Fayette County for the second time at CR 83, south of Boley Springs, and moved northeast where it exited Fayette County south of Blue Water Trace Rd . This tornado began in Pickens County, 5 miles northeast of Pickensville, and tracked through Tuscaloosa, Fayette, Walker, Cullman (See Storm Data for Huntsville), and Blount Counties, before it dissipated in Marshall (See Storm Data for Huntsville) County. While the average path width of this tornado in this portion of Fayette County was around 0.5 mile (880 yds), the tornado maximum path width was 0.75 mile (1320 yds) as it entered the county. The tornado strengthened to an EF3…

2. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down 4 miles west of Hubbertville, just west of US Hwy 43. The tornado tracked to the northeast where it knocked down hundreds of trees and destroyed at least two single family homes along CR 49, north of Hubbertville. As the tornado continued northeastward, several barns and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. Damage associated with this tornado was consistent with winds of 145 mph and an EF3 rating. The tornado lifted near County Road 24, approximately 2 miles south of Bazemore.

3. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System. It touched down in southeast Fayette County, east of AL Hwy 13, along AL Hwy 18, southwest of Berry. This tornado maintained a small path width, averaging around 0.10 mile (176 yds). The tornado track paralleled AL Hwy 13 where it damaged several barns and knocked down many trees. The tornado moved through downtown Berry, where numerous businesses and homes sustained roof and wall damage. The damage was consistent with an EF1 rating and winds of 100 mph. As the tornado moved northeast of town, it weakened and dissipated near AL Hwy 18 and Simmons Rd.

4. Nov 24, 2001Tornado$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   What was the longest tornado of the day began at 10:55 am about a two tenths of a mile inside Pickens County or about 5.8 miles southwest of Kennedy. The tornado traveled across southeastern Lamar County damaging or destroying a number of structures south and east of Kennedy. The tornado traveled on a northeast track moving into Fayette County at 11:07 am. Traveling northeast it went across western and northern sections of the city of Fayette doing serious damage to a number of structures. From the city of Fayette the tornado traveled across mostly rural areas damaging occasional structures and downing numerous trees and power lines. The tornado while still strong was weaker than…

5. Dec 23, 1998Ice Storm, Fayette$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A winter storm brought a mixture of freezing rain...sleet...and rain to the northern half of Alabama. The northwestern quarter of Alabama was especially hard hit. The precipitation began in a narrow band across Fayette, Walker, Cullman, and Marshall counties around 2 am and then around 5am in the rest of the counties and lasted until early afternoon on the 24th. The northwestern quarter of the state saw temperatures at or below freezing for the majority of the event. Liquid equivalent precipitation ranged from one to three inches. Significant ice accumulations of one half to one inch were common across the area. Numerous trees were down across every county. Significant power…

6. Nov 10, 2002Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Carbon Hill Tornado was the first tornado of the evening. It began in Fayette County at 6:52 pm, about 5.6 miles north-northwest of the city of Fayette, and 2.8 miles west of US Highway 43. The tornado moved on a northeast track crossing US 43, State Route 129, and SR 13, and then moved into Walker County just southwest of Carbon Hill at 7:10 pm.It then crossed the western and northern sections of Carbon Hill, downing trees and power lines and damaging many residential structures. Carbon Hill Elementary School was also heavily damaged. The tornado continued northeast, crossing SR5, and exited the county at SR 195. The two deaths associated with this tornado occurred just south…

7. Aug 29, 2005Tropical Storm, Fayette$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were snapped off or blown down as Katrina affected the area. Several homes and vehicles were damaged by the fallen trees.

8. Apr 28, 2014Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near the intersection of County Road 73 and County Road 53 in northern Fayette County. Five to ten trees were either snapped or uprooted with some minor roof damage to a home at the initial touchdown. The tornado then crossed County Road 65 near Eldridge Road where a couple of outbuildings lost portions of their roof. The tornado intensified as it crossed County Road 53 near the intersection of Eldridge Road. Here a couple of outbuildings were near total losses, dozens of trees were blown down, and a residence sustained minor damage. The tornado continued northeast and crossed into Marion County.

9. Feb 16, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Fayette County reported numerous trees and power lines blown down throughout the county. A number of the trees fell onto automobiles and homes causing major damage. A doctors office had its roof torn off in Fayette, and one mobile home was overturned. No injuries were reported.

10. Nov 10, 2002Tornado$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Saragossa Tornado was the fourth tornado to occur in Alabama and the longest track of the severe weather episode. It began in Fayette County, just east of the Sipsey River about 6 miles north-northeast of the city of Fayette at 8:15 pm. The tornado moved northeast, crossing portions of State Routes 102 and 13, and then SR 102 again around Stoddards Crossroads.The tornado crossed into Walker County at 8:34 pm and traveled through sparsely populated areas of western Walker County. It crossed the interchange of US Highway 78 about 5.5 miles east-southeast of Carbon Hill, and became very strong as it traveled through the Saragossa area. It crossed State Roads 5, 195, and 257,…

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

107°FJul 18, 1980

All-time low

−8°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

78°FJun 18, 2001

Coldest day

7°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

6.53 inMay 3, 1997

Snowiest day

12.5 inJan 1, 1964

Hottest year

2023mean 63.8°F

Coldest year

1979mean 58.3°F

Wettest year

202085.13 in

Driest year

192730.23 in

Station Winfield 2 Sw (USC00018998), 520 ft elevation, 13.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1973 to September 22, 2026; 93.9% 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 USC00018998.
• 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.