Russell County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Russell County: 2.
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.

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 19, 2009Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near the intersection of 22nd Avenue and 17th Street in Phenix City. It then traveled northeast through the south end of Phenix City, and crossed the Chattahoochee River and moved into Muscogee County Georgia. Five businesses sustained major damage, and seven homes received varying degrees of roof damage. At least 100 and as many as 200 trees were snapped or uprooted.

2. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Russell$275,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down across the county. Power was not fully restored in some locations for 4 days. At least 100 homes suffered some form of wind damage, mainly roof damage. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 65 miles an hour. Doppler radar and ground observations indicate up to 4 inches of rain fell in a short period of time. This produced temporary flooding of some roadways. One road sustained major damage as it was washed out.

3. May 8, 2003Flood, Russell$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Heavy rains forced the Chattahoochee River to flood eastern sections of Russell County. No homes were flooded according to Russell County EMA. The river gauge at Columbus, GA, showed the river in flood from the 8th through the 10th with a crest of 40.0 feet at noon CDT on May 9; flood stage is 34 feet.Flood damage was confined primarily to areas of Phenix City. Russell County EMA reported that the Riverwalk was underwater with damage to landscaping and electrical equipment. The amphitheater was also flooded but damage was minimal. The pumping station next to mead Coated Board (Broad Street and Dillingham Street) suffered heavy flooding with several pumps underwater. Repairs to the…

4. Feb 17, 2008Tornado$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near the intersection of US Highway 431 and CR-51 in the southern portion of the county. It then tracked northeastward to the Chattahoochee River near the Cottonton community, before crossing the river into Georgia. The most significant damage was located near CR-12. At least two mobile homes were destroyed and two frame houses received significant damage. Numerous trees were either snapped off or were uprooted along the path. At least one vehicle was flipped over. Four injuries were reported.

5. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The tornado touched down near the Phenix City Drag Strip, along CR-28. Most of the damage from the tornado was at a mobile home park, where two minor injuries occurred. A couple dozen trees were snapped and uprooted in the area.

6. Apr 11, 2007Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A swath of very large hail, some of it as big as grapefruits, fell across the eastern portion of Russell County, including the cities of Seale, Fort Mitchell, and Holy Trinity. The ground was covered with hail in several locations. At least 4 homes and 15 cars were damaged.

7. Apr 25, 2003Hail$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The supercell finished its wrath across Alabama as it exited into Georgia. Russell County received hail slightly larger than golf balls.

8. Mar 8, 1998Flash Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Some schools were closed after heavy rains moved over the county. Holland Creek flooded and washed out a few roads.

9. Jul 11, 2008Lightning$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike caused a house to catch fire.

10. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The tornado briefly touched down and produced damage near the intersection of Ridge Road and Rutledge Road, about 4 miles east-northeast of Seale. One mobile home was lifted off its foundation, spun and flipped, and completely destroyed. One occupant of the mobile home was injured. Several trees were also blown down along the short path.

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°FJun 30, 2012

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FAug 2, 1999

Coldest day

23°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

5.92 inApr 19, 2020

Snowiest day

11.0 inFeb 9, 1973

Hottest year

2019mean 68.6°F

Coldest year

1968mean 62.8°F

Wettest year

200980.20 in

Driest year

199926.39 in

Snowiest season

14.0 in1972-73

Station Columbus Metro Airport (USW00093842), 394 ft elevation, 9.6 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 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 USW00093842.
• 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.