Hurricanes that hit Clay County, Alabama: hurricane history

31 storms have passed within 50 km of Clay County from 1853 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 Clay County

The record holds 31 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Clay County, Alabama between 1853 and 2021. The busiest month is September, with 10 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 1 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 31storms within 50 km
  • 1major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 3at 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 Clay County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1445%
Tropical storm1342%
Category 126%
Category 200%
Category 313%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity13%

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

Clay County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 5 in 1900s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1940s1970s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2021, 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
1870s1
1880s1
1890s3
1900s5
1910s2
1920s1
1940s1
1950s4
1970s3
1990s3
2000s1
2010s1
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 10 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun5Jul6Aug2Sep10Oct7Nov0Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun5
Jul6
Aug2
Sep10
Oct7
Nov0
Dec0

Strongest storms near Clay County

  • Eloise (1975)13 September 1975 to 24 September 1975, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 950 hPa
  • 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)
  • Opal (1995)27 September 1995 to 6 October 1995, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 919 hPa
  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 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 Clay County

  • Claudette (2021)17 June 2021 to 23 June 2021, Tropical depression (25 kt) near here, peak Tropical storm (40 kt), 1,003 hPa
  • Zeta (2020)24 October 2020 to 30 October 2020, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (95 kt), 973 hPa
  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, Tropical storm (35 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 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 Clay 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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