Randolph County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. May 2, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Randolph County Emergency Management Agency estimated winds of at least 80 mph swept through Roanoke. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. Two or three homes were destroyed by falling trees while 16 other homes sustained major to moderate damage. A light pole at the high school stadium was toppled. The high school, a nursing home, the grammar school, and the recreation center reported minor damage. Six businesses sustained damage including an outbuilding business which suffered major damage. Two chicken houses sustained roof damage. Several trees were reported downed by the wind across the county.

2. Mar 8, 1998Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After a very heavy rain event, several creeks, including Wedowee and Wehadkee Creeks, overflowed their banks. This washed out 15 to 20 roads and bridges across the county.

3. May 8, 2003Flood, Randolph$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Tallapoosa River at Wadley was above the flood stage of 13 feet during this period. A crest of approximately 38 feet occurred in the afternoon of May 8. The crest height and time were estimated because the river gauge on SR 22 bridge over the river was under water. The city of Wadley was cut off on the 8th and 9th due to flooding of SR 22 both west and east of the town.The historic flooding came after an estimated 10 inches of rain fell across a large portion of the Tallapoosa River basin. The R. L. Harris Dam opened five of six gates to release water from behind the dam. A number of buildings were flooded in and around Wadley including a small market on the west side of…

4. Jul 22, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A 75 ton, 40 foot tall, gantry crane on the top of R. L. Harris Dam was moved along its tracks by an apparent microburst. The crane subsequently rolled through its end stops, eventually coming to a stop partially resting over the edge of the dam. The crane itself, and several portions of the dam that it impacted, sustained considerable damage as a result.

5. Sep 22, 2002Flash Flood$200,000
   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…

6. Jan 9, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging thunderstorm wind moved across the county around midnight. As the storm entered the county, a barn roof was damaged, and a chicken house lost its roof near the intersection of US 431 and CR 82. A barn was totally destroyed, several homes sustained roof damage, and trees and power lines were blown down along CR 82 across northern Randolph County. In northeast Randolph County on CR 422, chicken houses and homes sustained roof and some structural damage.

7. Apr 22, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Damaging straight line winds affected areas in and around Wedowee. Several homes sustained roof damage, several docks were damaged, one bank sustained major roof damage, and several trees and power lines were blown down. Power outages lasted through a large part of the afternoon.

8. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Randolph$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were knocked down across the county. At least 5500 customers were without power and the power was not fully restored in a few places for 2 to 3 days. One home was totally destroyed and 10 to 20 others received mainly minor damage. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 65 miles an hour. Doppler radar and ground observations indicate as much as 5 inches of rain fell during Ivan. A few homes received minor water damage and one road was washed out.

9. Jun 4, 2010Flash Flood$115,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding was reported around the city of Roanoke. Several streets became impassable with a foot or more of water flowing over them, and several homes in the area got up to 3 feet of water in them. The hardest hit area was along AL-22, near Midway Full Gospel Church. At least one unoccupied vehicle was carried about 400 feet down a flood swollen creek, and an additional vehicle in the same area was submerged for a time. One person had to be rescued from her trailer after flood waters surrounded it.

10. Feb 17, 2008Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado touched down on CR-15 near the Pleasant Grove Church, about 3 miles southwest of Wedowee. It then tracked northeast, damaging five homes, at least two vehicles and three barns. One shop and numerous other outbuildings were significantly damaged or destroyed. Additionally, several dozen trees were either snapped off or were uprooted along the path. The tornado lifted near the Georgia state line at CR-477.

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 21, 1983

All-time low

−5°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

78°F8 times, most recently Aug 17, 2010

Coldest day

14°FFeb 14, 1905

Wettest day

7.96 inMar 29, 1977

Snowiest day

11.2 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2016mean 65.3°F

Coldest year

1968mean 60.3°F

Wettest year

201375.28 in

Driest year

200722.39 in

Snowiest season

13.0 in1992-93

Station Anniston Metro Airport (USW00013871), 597 ft elevation, 33.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1903 to October 26, 2026; 99.6% 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 USW00013871.
• 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.