Lee County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lee County: 29.
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.

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.

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. Nov 16, 2011Tornado$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado initially touched down in Macon County Alabama and crossed into Lee County approximately 1 mile southwest of Lee Road 3. It continued its northeastward path causing extensive tree damage across western Lee County. Dozens of houses and mobile homes on the western side of Auburn were heavily damaged due to falling trees. Several residences were destroyed. One female and one child were injured when trees fell on a mobile home. Significant damage was also noted in the Terrace Acres neighborhood, where homes were heavily damaged from falling trees. The tornado crossed the southern edge of Auburn University's campus and caused damage to the baseball facilities at Auburn High…

2. May 8, 2003Flood, Lee$1.8 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains forced the Chattahoochee River to flood eastern sections of Lee County including some back water sections along the river. Lee County Emergency Management Agency reported that the flooded area including the Tranquil Pines area in the southwest part of the county about 10 miles north of Smith's Station along the Chattahoochee River. Twenty homes sustained major damage and 25 homes were reported with minor damage. An additional 15 homes were affected by flood waters.

3. Jun 28, 1999Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Four to six inches of rainfall in a short period of time caused extensive flooding throughout Lee County. The hardest hit areas were Auburn and Opelika. Numerous roads and highways were closed in and around Auburn and Opelika. Numerous motorists drove into the water covered roads and were stranded. A few bridges were washed away and destroyed. Several hundred homes received some sort of flood damage. Many businesses also received damage due to the high water. One small dam also broke in North Auburn.

4. Feb 28, 2009Tornado$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down southwest of the community of Salem. It then moved just north of due east, crossing US-280 and several smaller county roads, before lifting at CR-379. Winds estimated at 125-130 mph destroyed 6 mobile homes and 4 site built homes, badly damaged 8 homes, and caused minor damage to 9 others. Two area businesses were destroyed, one other received minor damage, and one school building was damaged. Hundreds of trees were snapped off and uprooted, and one 18-wheeler was overturned. There were three minor injuries reported, only one that required hospitalization.

5. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Lee$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down across Lee County. At least 8000 customers were without power during the height of the storm. Power was not restored in all locations for at least 3 days. At least 25 homes suffered major damage and another 100 or more homes reported moderate damage. Many more homes and structures received minor damage. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 70 miles an hour.

6. Apr 1, 2005Flash Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Doppler radar estimated several inches of rain in a short period of time across Lee County. The rain fell on already saturated ground. Several roads were flooded and were temporarily impassable. Two bridges were totally destroyed. One culvert was totally washed away. A retaining wall collapsed in Auburn.

7. Apr 25, 2003Hail$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The long track, steady state supercell maintained its fairly slow track east southeast across southern Lee County. Hail was reported up to baseball size near Beauregard. Several automobiles and homes were damaged. A few trees were also blown down along the path.

8. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down just west of the town of Loachapoka along CR-64. It then moved through Loachapoka, and nearly paralleled AL-14 for several miles, before lifting just south of AL-14 east of CR-51. Hundreds of trees were snapped off and uprooted along the path. In Loachapoka, a church sustained moderate roof damage, several barns and outbuildings suffered varying degrees of damage, and a few vehicles were damaged by the fallen trees.

9. Jul 22, 2008Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a house, causing it to catch fire. The roof was completely burned. One occupant escaped without injury.

10. May 23, 2009Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The weak tornado touched down in northeast Lee County on the south side of Halawaka Creek. Starting just to the west of Forest Road and traveling to the northwest, the tornado lifted after it crossed Lee Road 462 and crossed into the lake. Damage along the path included approximately 150 trees snapped or uprooted, several of which fell onto homes and other buildings, including sheds and boat houses.

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

103°F5 times, most recently Jul 2, 2012

All-time low

−7°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Warmest night

79°FJun 24, 2009

Coldest day

21°F2 times, most recently Dec 26, 1983

Wettest day

6.80 inOct 1, 1965

Snowiest day

8.6 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

2019mean 64.2°F

Coldest year

1976mean 59.1°F

Wettest year

197580.77 in

Driest year

201240.00 in

Station Opelika (USC00016129), 627 ft elevation, 7.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1957 to October 21, 2026; 93.5% 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 USC00016129.
• 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.