Mobile County

Every recorded tornado

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

High tide flooding

Other tide gauges here: Mobile State Docks (record 12 days, 2020); Coast Guard Sector Mobile (record 17 days, 2024); Dog River Bridge (record 13 days, 2020); East Fowl River Bridge (record 14 days, 2020); Chickasaw Creek (record 13 days, 2015); West Fowl River Bridge (record 14 days, 2020); Bayou La Batre Bridge (record 14 days, 2020).

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, 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. Sep 13, 2004Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower Mobile$2.5 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Ivan affected the region from September 13 through the 16th. The coastal areas were put under a hurricane watch at 900 PM CST on September 13. The area was put under a hurricane warning at 300 PM CST on September 14. The hurricane warning was dropped at 900 AM CST on September 16 and we were put under a tropical storm warning. The tropical storm warning was dropped at 300 PM CST on September 16. Ivan made landfall around 100 AM CST near Gulf Shores, Alabama on September 16. An interesting note, as Ivan approached the Alabama coast during the day on the 15th, a buoy just south of the Alabama coastal waters recorded a peak wave height of 52 feet, before breaking loose of…

2. Aug 27, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower Mobile$1.0 billion
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the fourth time this season, the area was threatened by a tropical event. Major Hurricane Katrina impacted portions of the area during the day of August 29th. The storm made landfall over southeast Louisiana around sunrise on August 29. The center of Katrina tracked north northeast near I-59 across southeast Mississippi. Katrina had a large eye and the wind field was also very large. Gusts to hurricane force were felt as far east as the Alabama and Mississippi state line. Wind damage from Katrina decreased as you got farther east of the center of the storm. However, high storm surge values were observed as far east as Destin in Okaloosa county. The storm surge with Katrina was…

3. Jul 9, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower Mobile$120 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the narrative of Hurricane Dennis, please see Florida, West Panhandle. After Dennis moved through Santa Rosa and Escambia counties in Florida it moved across Escambia, Monroe, Clarke and Choctaw counties in southwest Alabama. Tree damage was reported in all of these counties as well as Conecuh, Washington and Wilcox counties. Some of the trees fell on structures and damaged them. By far the worst damage occurred in Escambia and Monroe counties in the Alabama counties. As was the case in Florida, the cotton crop suffered damage from the heavy rains and high winds.

4. Sep 25, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Lower Mobile$80.0 million
   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…

5. Sep 15, 2020Hurricane (Typhoon), Mobile Coastal$76.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Sally made landfall in Gulf Shores, AL at 5am on Wednesday, September 16th as a strong Category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. Sally produced widespread wind, storm surge, and freshwater flooding across coastal AL and the western Florida Panhandle. Flood and wind damage also extended well inland into inland southwest Alabama and south central Alabama. Sally was an extremely slow moving hurricane, which prolonged and exacerbated the local impacts. The storm was moving at less than 5 mph at the time of landfall, resulting in a long duration of tropical storm and hurricane force winds, storm surge, and torrential rainfall. ||Storm surge and resultant…

6. Oct 7, 2017Storm Surge/Tide, Mobile Coastal$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Nate quickly moved north northwest out of the northwest Caribbean Sea and across the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall near Biloxi, MS just after midnight on October 8th as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum winds of 85 mph. Nate quickly weakened as it moved inland across inland southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama and was downgraded to a tropical depression over central Alabama by 10am CDT on October 8th.||The most significant damage produced by Nate was a substantial storm surge, particularly in the Mississippi Sound and Mobile Bay. The highest surge values were observed in Mobile County, AL where peak surge inundation was generally 4 to 6 feet based on official…

7. Apr 29, 2014Flash Flood$6.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Ten to seventeen inches of rain fell across much of central and southern Mobile county. Most of that rain fell during the evening of April 29th through the early morning of April 30th. Widespread flash flooding was reported across central and southern Mobile county, including the city of Mobile. Numerous roads were closed due to being impassable and dozens of people had to be rescued from cars that drove into flooded areas. Massive sinkholes developed on Girby Street and on Dauphin Street at Mcgreror Street. Homes were flooded in a Theodore subdivision.

8. Sep 24, 2002Tropical Storm, Lower Mobile$4.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time during the month the area was threatened by a tropical storm. Tropical Storm Isidore threatened the area Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We were put under a Tropical Storm Warning at 900 AM CST on September 24. The Tropical Storm Warning was dropped at 300 PM CST on September 26 as the remains of Isidore moved across eastern Mississippi. Isidore moved ashore over the Southeast Louisiana Coast between 200 and 300 AM CST on September 26. Although the center of Isidore did not move over our area, the strongest winds and heaviest rains were east of the center with most of the damage across Southwest Alabama and Northwest Florida.Some of the winds recorded across…

9. Sep 1, 2008Storm Surge/Tide, Lower Mobile$3.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Gustav moved south and west of the Alabama Coastal waters and brought high tide levels to the area. The berm on the western end of Dauphin Island was completely washed away. The road leading to Dauphin Island was closed due to high water. The causeway, parts of downtown Mobile, Bayou La Batre and areas along the Dog river were also closed due to high water. Bayou La Batre had a storm tide height of 6.2 feet with a surge of 5.5 feet. Dauphin Island had a storm tide height of 4.2 feet with a surge of 3.5 feet. Middle Bay Lighthouse had a storm tide of 4.6 feet with a surge of 3.9 feet. Mobile State Docks had a storm tide height of 4.9 feet with a surge of 4.2 feet. Coast Guard…

10. Jul 3, 2007Thunderstorm Wind$3.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Eye witness interviews, archived radar data, photographic evidence and media reports indicate that a thunderstorm downburst with peak winds of 70 mph, accompanied by a gustnado along the leading edge of the gustfront, was the cause of the damage that occurred in the vicinity of the I-65 and Dauphin Street interchange at around 120 pm CST on the afternoon of July 3. |A short lived gustnado developed along the leading edge of the thunderstorm downburst near the Dauphin Way Baptist Church, just on the west side of I-65. Most reports indicate that the gustnado was visible along the gustfront for 30 to 60 seconds. Slight damage occurred to a couple of trees along Dauphin Street near…

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

106°FAug 26, 2023

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°F5 times, most recently Aug 13, 2023

Coldest day

23°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

13.36 inApr 13, 1955

Snowiest day

7.5 inJan 21, 2025

Hottest year

2023mean 71.0°F

Coldest year

1983mean 64.5°F

Wettest year

197586.58 in

Driest year

195442.35 in

Snowiest season

7.5 in2024-25

Station Mobile (USW00013894), 289 ft elevation, 3.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 24, 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 USW00013894.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.