Hale County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Hale County: 10.
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. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$17.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in southwestern Greene County near Tishabee, and moved northeast through central Hale and Bibb Counties. The tornado then lifted near Marvel in far northeast Bibb County. The tornado crossed the Black Warrior River and into Hale County west of Sawyerville. The tornado crossed AL Route 14, just north of Sawyerville, intensifying to an EF3 rating with winds of 145 mph. As the tornado continued northeast, it crossed CR 18, CR 21, AL Hwy 69 south of Harper Hill, and CR 29 east of Ingram. Extensive structural damage was noted in the these locations, which resulted in at least 40 injuries and 6 fatalities. Numerous mobile homes and single family homes and one…

2. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The second segment of this tornado crossed into Hale County, just north of Creehill Creek. This tornado began in Greene County 2.2 miles east of Forkland. The tornado moved northeast into Hale County where it snapped and uprooted hundreds of trees. As the tornado crossed State Highway 14, it strengthened to an EF-2 rating, with maximum winds of 130 mph. Three mobile homes were severely damaged just north of Greensboro. The tornado lifted north of State Highway 25, 2.4 miles west of the Bibb County line.

3. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Hale$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees and power lines were blown down or snapped off during Ivan. Several hundred homes or structures received varying degrees of wind damage. At least 200 trees blocked roadways making them temporarily impassable. Power was not fully restored for at least a week in spots. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 90 miles an hour.

4. Aug 29, 2005Tropical Storm, Hale$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down countywide. At least three quarters of the county was without power for an extended period of time. Numerous structures, homes and vehicles were damaged. Some of the damage was major. Four people across the county were injured during the storm. Two people were injured when a tree fell on their mobile home. One man was injured when a tree fell onto his home. One man was injured when he left his vehicle as trees fell around him and he was subsequently hit by another vehicle.

5. Jul 10, 2005Tropical Storm, Hale$375,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Hale County in association with Dennis. Several homes and automobiles were damaged by fallen trees. Many roadways were temporarily blocked. Many customers were without power for at least a day.

6. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$374,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near State Highway 14 in Hale County. As it moved northeast, several hundred trees were snapped or uprooted. Several homes and businesses sustained moderate roof damage and a church sustained significant damage to the windows and one wall. Although no injuries were reported, one person remained trapped in their overturned mobile home for several hours. The tornado lifted near State Highway 69.

7. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado initially touched down in eastern Hale County and tracked northeast into the Talladega National Forest and western Bibb County. The tornado lifted just east of Mertz. The tornado touched down east of CR 85, southwest of Hogglesville and tracked northeast along CR 25. As the tornado moved through Wateroak, a mobile home and a business were damaged. Significant tree damage was also noted along the path. Damage was consistent with an EF1 rating and winds of 110 mph. The tornado moved into Bibb County south of CR 25.

8. Apr 10, 2004Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell thunderstorm moved across Greene, Hale, and Perry Counties and produced significant wind damage along with very large hail. The supercell produced minor tree damage in extreme northwest Greene County north of Boligee and then became stronger. The most extensive damage started just northeast of Eutaw, in Greene County, along US 11 and ended just north of the Wedgewood community, in Hale County, along SR 60. The swath of damage was 1.5 miles wide at the beginning point and 3 miles wide at the ending point. The path length was approximately 6.5 miles long. Inside this extensive damage area, thousands of trees were snapped off or uprooted, numerous power lines were snapped…

9. Jul 26, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A strong downburst apparently occurred when a thunderstorm developed and collapsed rapidly upon the interaction with an outflow boundary from other nearby convection in the area about 2.6 miles west of Havana in northern Hale County. One business (a small grocery) was partially deroofed (essentially destroyed), four mobile homes were damaged including one that was completely flipped over, one that lost shingles, one that was pushed off it's blocks, and one that was sliced by a falling tree. The three injuries, all minor, occurred in the mobile home that flipped. Numerous trees were downed including some that were estimated to be over 200 years old. Trees were downed in an area…

10. May 3, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and power lines were blown down across Hale County, including around Greensboro. A total of 9 homes were damaged by fallen trees, including 5 homes in the Faunsdale area. One mobile home had its roof torn off.

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°F5 times, most recently Aug 14, 2007

All-time low

−5°FFeb 13, 1899

Warmest night

84°FSep 3, 1906

Coldest day

13°FFeb 12, 1899

Wettest day

9.50 inMay 13, 1903

Snowiest day

10.0 inMar 15, 1900

Hottest year

1938mean 68.7°F

Coldest year

1917mean 62.0°F

Wettest year

196180.29 in

Driest year

195429.00 in

Station Greensboro (USC00013511), 249 ft elevation, 7.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1890 to October 27, 2026; 85.8% 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 USC00013511.
• 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.