Hurricanes that hit Etowah County, Alabama: hurricane history

27 storms have passed within 50 km of Etowah County from 1853 to 2020, 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 Etowah County

The record holds 27 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Etowah County, Alabama between 1853 and 2020. The busiest month is September, with 9 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 1 strength. 1 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 27storms within 50 km
  • 0major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 1at 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 Etowah County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1556%
Tropical storm1037%
Category 114%
Category 200%
Category 300%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity14%

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

Etowah County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 4 in 1970s.1850s11860s21890s31900s21910s11930s11940s11950s21960s11970s41980s11990s32000s42020s1

The 2020s only run to 2020, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1853, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s1
1860s2
1890s3
1900s2
1910s1
1930s1
1940s1
1950s2
1960s1
1970s4
1980s1
1990s3
2000s4
2020s1

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 9 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May0Jun2Jul6Aug3Sep9Oct6Nov1Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun2
Jul6
Aug3
Sep9
Oct6
Nov1
Dec0

Strongest storms near Etowah County

  • Unnamed storm of October 1853 (North Atlantic)17 October 1853 to 23 October 1853, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt)
  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa

Most recent storms near Etowah County

  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa
  • Fay (2008)15 August 2008 to 28 August 2008, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (60 kt), 986 hPa
  • Cindy (2005)3 July 2005 to 11 July 2005, Tropical depression (20 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (65 kt), 992 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 Etowah County

  • Ivan (2004)2 September 2004 to 24 September 2004, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 910 hPa

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