Monroe County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Monroe County: 0.
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 14, 2007Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A few minutes after the huge microburst occurred, a tornado touched down just southwest of County Road 56 south of Vredenburgh. Most of the structural damage occurred north of County Road 56. A very old home was pushed from its blocks and roof was lifted off. The tornado then moved northeast and damaged a church that was located near the home. Many trees were blown down in this area. Another church a few hundred yards to the northeast of the first church had part of the back of the building blown off. A convergence pattern was observed in the fallen trees from southwest of County Road 56 to northeast of the home. The tornado either dissipated or went back into the clouds near the…

2. Mar 12, 2001Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a tree near Beatrice Elementary School just before school opened. The lightning ran through the roots of the tree and caught the gymnasium on fire. The gym was completely destroyed. The remainder of the school suffered only minor damage from the fire.

3. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado snapped or uprooted trees along a 400 yard wide path then produced significant damage to 3 homes and 1 church in the Riley's Crossroads area. One home had 2 exterior walls collapsed, another had a large section of the roof removed. The tornado significantly damaged the roof of the Savannah Missionary Baptist Church removing large sections of the sheathing and removing the steeple.

4. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near Riley's Crossroads and continued northeast crossing Owens Road just east of Old Texas. On Owens Road the tornado destroyed the Bethlehem Methodist Church. The tornado continued east across Emanual Church road snapping trees in a 300 yard wide path and doing significant roof damage to at least 1 home. The tornado continued northeast into Butler County Alabama.

5. Dec 24, 2015Flood$275,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous roads were closed due to flooding. Many dirt roads were damaged during the flood event. Water entered into a few structures in Monroeville, which are located in low lying and flood prone locations.

6. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tornado touched down just east of County Road 47 south of Robinson Creek Road snapping several hardwood trees, then continued north northeast to near the Amity Missionary Baptist Church on Robinson Creek Road. The tornado completely removed the roof from the church and significantly damaged several exterior walls.

7. Sep 25, 1998Hurricane (Typhoon), Monroe$200,000
   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…

8. Dec 24, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Travel Inn on 136 near Highway 184 had the roof blown off by winds estimated at 60-70 mph. A few hundred yards down from the motel a couple of dead tees were blown down. A trailer had its skirting blown out and a limb was blown into to the top of the trailer.

9. Sep 26, 2005Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A weak tornado developed near Monroe County Airport. The tornado blew down trees and power lines and caused some damage to hangers at the airport. Wind equipment at the airport was blown down by the tornado. The tornado moved almost parallel to Highway 21. The tornado developed in part of a system that had broken off from Hurricane Rita and moved south across southwest Alabama. This was the second weak tornado to develop near the airport in two days. At about the same time the day before, a weak tornado briefly touched down and caused damage just east of the airport.

10. Mar 18, 1996Tornado$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    THE SAME STORM SYSTEM THAT DROPPED A COUPLE OF TORNADOES IN CLARKE COUNTY MOVED INTO MONROE COUNTY AND DROPPED A TORNADO FOUR MILES EAST OF CLAIBORNE LAKE, JUST WEST OF COUNTY ROAD 17. THE TORNADO MOVED NORTHEAST AND MOVED THROUGH FRANKLIN ALONG STATE HWY 41. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED BACK INTO THE CLOUD JUST WEST OF COUNTY ROAD 56, SIX MILES SOUTH OF VREDENBURGH. THE TORNADO SKIPPED ALONG THE GROUND FOR ABOUT ELEVEN MILES. THREE MOBILE HOMES AND A HOUSE WERE DESTROYED NEAR FRANKLIN. FIVE PEOPLE WERE INJURED, BUT NONE SERIOUSLY. TREES AND POWER LINES WERE BLOWN DOWN ALONG THE TRACK OF THE TORNADO. SHEDS AND BARNS ALONG THE TRACK OF THE TORNADO ALSO SUFFERED DAMAGE. TREES FALLING ON…

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

105°FJul 24, 1952

All-time low

1°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

88°FJun 13, 1952

Coldest day

21°F2 times, most recently Dec 24, 1989

Wettest day

12.10 inApr 13, 1955

Snowiest day

5.0 inJan 22, 2025

Hottest year

2019mean 69.2°F

Coldest year

1989mean 63.8°F

Wettest year

201790.15 in

Driest year

195433.93 in

Station Atmore (USC00010402), 300 ft elevation, 22.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1940 to October 27, 2026; 98.0% 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 USC00010402.
• 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.