Hurricanes that hit Elmore County, Alabama: hurricane history

35 storms have passed within 50 km of Elmore County from 1852 to 2021, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Elmore County

The record holds 35 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Elmore County, Alabama between 1852 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 11 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 2 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 35storms within 50 km
  • 1major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 2at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Elmore County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1543%
Tropical storm1646%
Category 113%
Category 200%
Category 313%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity26%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Elmore County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1900s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2021, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1852, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s2
1860s1
1870s1
1880s2
1890s2
1900s5
1910s1
1920s2
1930s1
1940s2
1950s4
1960s1
1970s2
1980s1
1990s2
2000s2
2010s2
2020s2

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 11 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May2Jun5Jul5Aug4Sep11Oct7Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun5
Jul5
Aug4
Sep11
Oct7
Nov1
Dec0

Strongest storms near Elmore County

  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1893 (North Atlantic)27 September 1893 to 5 October 1893, Tropical storm (55 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 948 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1852 (North Atlantic)19 August 1852 to 30 August 1852, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 961 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1881 (North Atlantic)21 August 1881 to 30 August 1881, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 970 hPa

Most recent storms near Elmore County

  • Claudette (2021)17 June 2021 to 23 June 2021, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa
  • Sally (2020)11 September 2020 to 18 September 2020, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 967 hPa
  • Alberto (2018)25 May 2018 to 31 May 2018, Tropical depression (30 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (55 kt), 990 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Elmore County

  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa

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