Jefferson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Jefferson County: 110.
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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (2).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding occurred throughout Jefferson County. Doppler radar estimated up to 12 inches of rain fell across the county in a few hours, with 5 to 8 inches of the total occurring in just one hour. Especially hard hit were Leeds, Brookside, Cardiff, Fultondale, Trussville and Birmingham. Numerous homes across the county were flooded. At least 120 roadways were impassable. Several sewage treatment plants were flooded and minor contamination occurred. Several roadways had pavement removed and then washed away. Several bridges were damaged. Two Birmingham schools were damaged from flooding. All the roadways in Leeds and in Brookside were impassable. Seventy four mobile homes…

2. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$700 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado initially touched down in rural northern Greene County and moved northeast through southern Tuscaloosa and western Jefferson Counties. The tornado caused devastating damage consistent with a violent EF4 rating to portions of the city of Tuscaloosa and western suburbs of Birmingham and then lifted northeast of downtown Birmingham. The tornado entered western Jefferson County 5.5 miles west of North Johns. The tornado continued to cause significant tree damage as it crossed Sealy Ann Mountain Rd and CR 23. As the tornado crossed Valley Creek and the far northern portion of Virginia, several homes sustained minor damage. The tornado strengthened to a violent EF4 rating…

3. Apr 8, 1998Tornado$200 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado, the second spawned from the same supercell, began in rural sections of eastern Tuscaloosa County 1.5 miles east of the Warrior River. The tornado moved through primarily rural and unpopulated areas of eastern Tuscaloosa County before crossing into extreme southwestern Jefferson County. The tornado remained in primarily unpopulated area until just before reaching Oak Grove community where three deaths occurred in a mobile home. The tornado destroyed the Oak Grove School and a number of other buildings including a fire department as it cross CR 23/54.The tornado moved into unpopulated area for a short while before crossing CR 54 (Lock 17 Road/Warrior River Road) where…

4. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$18.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System. It touched down in south central Jefferson County where it affected the Cahaba Heights and Liberty Park communities of the Birmingham Metro area. The tornado touched down near Gresham Elementary School. It knocked down several trees along Country Ridge Pl. The tornado moved northeast and crossed US Hwy 280, near Dolly Ridge Rd where it knocked down numerous trees and damaging buildings along the highway. The tornado strengthened as it moved into Cahaba Heights where it produced damage consistent with an EF2 rating and winds of 120 mph. The most significant area of damage occurred between US Hwy 280 and Cahaba Heights Rd,…

5. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Jefferson$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were blown down across all of Jefferson County. The power was not fully restored in all locations for at least 7 days. Over 500 homes sustained varying degrees of wind damage. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 70 miles an hour. Doppler radar and ground observations indicated 6 to 9 inches of rain fell in association with Ivan. At least 250 homes suffered water damage due to flooding. Many creeks and roadways were flooded and were temporarily impassable.

6. Aug 29, 2005Tropical Storm, Jefferson$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were snapped off or blown down during Katrina. Numerous roadways were impassable due to the fallen trees. Many structures, homes and vehicles were damaged. At least 150,000 customers were without power for several hours.

7. Sep 22, 2002Flash Flood$5.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Very heavy rain fell across central Alabama during the early morning hours. The heaviest rain was measured generally from Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Wedowee. Radar-estimated rainfall amounts averaged from 3 to 5 inches with many localized areas over 7 inches in only a few hours. The hardest hit area was the Birmingham Metropolitan area where the damage stretched from Bessemer to Pelham to Mountain Brook to Vestavia Hills. The following events were reported: numerous high water rescues were performed by area fire departments, one junior high school sustained major damage, one home was totally destroyed, 100 homes suffered varying degrees of damage, 22 apartments were flooded, one…

8. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$5.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado developed along a Quasi-Linear Convective System. It touched down in far northern Jefferson County, northeast of Warrior, and tracked northeastward into Blount County and across the western bank of Mountain Woods Lake before it lifted northeast of Sagefield Rd. The damage along the Jefferson County portion of the track was consistent with an EF1 rating with winds of 95 mph. The tornado touched down east of Old Hayden Rd, and tracked northeast where it downed dozens of trees along Mabel Dr. This resulted in damage to several homes. The tornado moved into Blount County near Sibleyville Rd.

9. Dec 10, 2023Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado first touched down just north of Lakeshore Parkway along Snow Drive. Here the damage was very light with large tree branches broken. The tornado tracked northeast, skirting John Carroll High School before producing significant tree damage along Oak Grove Road. One home was heavily damaged by falling trees, with lesser damage to others, and a large stand of mostly pine trees were snapped or uprooted east of Oak Grove Road. The tornado widened and intensified as it approached Wildwood Parkway. A strip mall there sustained very minor damage. However, a large office complex on the north end of Wildwood Parkway sustained substantial damage. A large number of windows were…

10. Apr 3, 2000Tornado$4.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado path began on Shades Crest just west of US 31. The tornado paralleled Shades Crest before moving down a hill and across the Birmingham Water Works and US 280. The tornado continued to travel northeasterly just north of Overton Road through a heavily wooded residential area and continued along Overton Road to I-459. The tornado ended just east of I-459 in the Cahaba River area in the vicinity of Liberty Park.Damage was primarily to trees with generally minor roof damage to structures. Several structures sustained major damage at the Birmingham Water Works on US 280. Some structures sustained heavy damage when trees fell on them. Beginning: 33 27.310/86 47.330 End: 33…

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 29, 1930

All-time low

−6°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°F4 times, most recently Jul 8, 2016

Coldest day

13°FDec 12, 1962

Wettest day

9.75 inSep 16, 2004

Snowiest day

10.3 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2016mean 66.3°F

Coldest year

1976mean 60.3°F

Wettest year

196176.48 in

Driest year

200728.86 in

Snowiest season

13.0 in1992-93

Station Birmingham Airport (USW00013876), 616 ft elevation, 5.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1930 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00013876.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.