Jefferson County, Alabama: Natural Disaster Risk and History
Jefferson County, Alabama has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 97.6 out of 100, higher than about 97% of US counties, with tornadoes, lightning and cold waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $262 million a year in expected losses.
OpenFEMA lists 37 federal disaster declarations that included Jefferson County since 1970, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3618-AL (Hurricane Helene, declared 26 September 2024). NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 109 tornadoes touching Jefferson County from 1950 to 2025.
Live weather alerts for Alabama All official warnings Latest FEMA declarations
Population 673,766 Buildings worth $144 billion Area 1,136 sq mi Risk rank in Alabama 2 of 67 FIPS 01073
All 18 hazards, highest risk first
FEMA National Risk Index| Hazard | Risk rating | Score | Expected loss a year | How often | Events in record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tornado | Very High | 99.6 | $56 million | about 1.2 a year | 83 |
| Lightning | Very High | 99.5 | $5.4 million | about 69 a year | 1,718,779 strikes |
| Cold wave | Relatively High | 98.5 | $23 million | about once every 1.4 years | 14 |
| Inland flooding | Relatively High | 98.1 | $143 million | about 4.2 a year | 117 |
| Heat wave | Relatively High | 97.6 | $11 million | about 7.9 a year | 129 |
| Strong wind | Relatively High | 97.6 | $4.1 million | about 2.6 a year | 100 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 96.1 | $17 million | about once every 431 years | — |
| Landslide | Relatively Moderate | 94.9 | $112,860 | about 2.5 a year | — |
| Ice storm | Relatively High | 87.7 | $665,121 | about once every 2.1 years | 33 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 79.5 | $181,714 | about 3 a year | 56 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 79.1 | $330,329 | rarer than once in 1,000 years | — |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 76.6 | $1.1 million | about once every 21 years | 16 |
| Hail | Very Low | 32.1 | $116,296 | about 4 a year | 152 |
| Drought | Very Low | 26.8 | $14,659 | about 27 a year | 917 |
| Avalanche | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Coastal flooding | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Tsunami | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
| Volcanic activity | Not Applicable | — | — | — | — |
Score: FEMA's percentile among US counties that face the hazard (higher = more risk). Expected loss: FEMA's modelled average yearly loss to buildings, people (as a statistical value) and crops. How often: FEMA's annualised frequency of the hazard in the county; for some hazards it counts event-days, so it is a rough guide, not a forecast. "Not Applicable" means FEMA does not model that hazard here.
Federal disaster declarations 37
Most common: Severe Storm 18, Hurricane 10, Flood 4, Tornado 2.
| Decade | Declarations | Incident types |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8 | Flood ×4, Tornado ×2, Drought, Severe Storm |
| 1980s | 1 | Severe Storm |
| 1990s | 4 | Severe Storm ×2, Hurricane, Snowstorm |
| 2000s | 14 | Severe Storm ×8, Hurricane ×5, Fire |
| 2010s | 6 | Severe Storm ×4, Hurricane ×2 |
| 2020s | 4 | Hurricane ×2, Severe Storm ×2 |
The last 10
Widest declarations that included Jefferson County
- Hurricane Helene (2024, EM-3618-AL): 67 Alabama counties designated.
- Hurricane Sally (2020, EM-3545-AL): 67 Alabama counties designated.
- Hurricane Irma (2017, EM-3389-AL): 67 Alabama counties designated.
Named storms in its declarations: Hurricane Helene (2024), Hurricane Sally (2020), Hurricane Nate (2017), Hurricane Irma (2017), Hurricane Gustav (2008), Hurricane Katrina (2005), Hurricane Dennis (2005), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Opal (1995).
Not counted above: 2 COVID-19 ("Biological") declarations — in 2020 every US county was included. Alabama also had 1 statewide declaration with no county list.
Tornado record since 1950 109
| Tornadoes touching the county | 109 |
|---|---|
| Strongest-rated | (E)F5 ×2 |
| Peak month | April (34) |
| Deadliest | 27 Apr 2011, EF4, 80.7 mi path, 64 killed, 1500 injured |
| Longest path | 27 Apr 2011, EF4, 80.7 mi path, 64 killed, 1500 injured |
| Most recent | 25 Nov 2025, EF1, 17.9 mi path |
| Deaths / injuries on those paths | 154 / 2,460 |
| Rating | (E)F0 | (E)F1 | (E)F2 | (E)F3 | (E)F4 | (E)F5 | Unrated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 21 | 48 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Decade | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | 9 | 9 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 20 | 20 | 13 |
Deaths and injuries are for each tornado's whole path, which can run beyond this county. F-scale ratings before February 2007, Enhanced Fujita (EF) after.
How Jefferson County compares with its 5 nearest counties
| County | Distance | Overall risk | Score | Top hazard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County (this page) | — | Relatively High | 97.6 | Tornado |
| Shelby County | 39 km | Relatively Moderate | 90.3 | Tornado |
| Walker County | 46 km | Relatively Moderate | 82.6 | Tornado |
| Blount County | 56 km | Relatively Low | 68.5 | Tornado |
| St. Clair County | 57 km | Relatively Low | 72.1 | Tornado |
| Cullman County | 64 km | Relatively Moderate | 81.9 | Cold wave |
Nearest by distance between county centres. Every county in Alabama, ranked.
Vulnerability and resilience
| Social vulnerability | Relatively Moderate 56.2 |
|---|---|
| Community resilience | Relatively High 80.0 |
| Community risk factor | 1.17 |
| Expected annual loss, all hazards | $262 million |
FEMA scales expected losses up where social vulnerability is high (people who may find it harder to prepare, evacuate or recover) and down where community resilience is high. A factor above 1 raises the risk score. For social vulnerability a high rating is worse; for resilience a high rating is better.
Prepare for Jefferson County's main hazards
- Right now: National Weather Service alerts for Alabama · all official warnings on Global Incident Tracker.
- Tornado: Is there a tornado warning now?
- Lightning: Weather alerts for Alabama
- Cold wave: Carbon monoxide in winter · Power outages now
- Your property's flood zone: FEMA Flood Map Service Center ↗ — this page cannot tell you that.
- Official preparedness guidance: Ready.gov ↗ and your county emergency management office.
What this page shows, and what it misses
FEMA's National Risk Index rates a whole county against every other US county; it is a planning-level estimate for nationwide comparison, not a flood-zone map and not a substitute for a local risk assessment or the risk to one home. Declarations are presidential disaster, emergency and fire management declarations that named this county; state declarations and SBA or USDA designations are not included. Tornadoes are counted when the county is one of up to four listed on the track; 670 tornadoes that crossed a state line carry no county list in NOAA's file and are left out.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Risk Index Dataset: National Risk Index Counties - v1.20.0 (December 2025). Retrieved from https://services.arcgis.com/XG15cJAlne2vxtgt/ArcGIS/rest/services/National_Risk_Index_Counties/FeatureServer/0/query on November 2, 2026, 1:20 PM EST. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets 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).
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), OpenFEMA Dataset: Disaster Declarations Summaries - v2, retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/api/open/v2/DisasterDeclarationsSummaries on November 2, 2026, 1:21 PM EST. 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).
Tornado records: NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, Severe Weather Database, tornadoes 1950–2025 (https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/data/1950-2025_actual_tornadoes.csv, downloaded 2 November 2026). Public domain; not endorsed by NOAA. Compiled by Global Incident Tracker.
Questions about Jefferson County
What natural disasters is Jefferson County, Alabama most at risk from?
Jefferson County, Alabama has a Relatively High natural-hazard risk rating in FEMA's National Risk Index (v1.20, December 2025): a score of 97.6 out of 100, higher than about 97% of US counties, with tornadoes, lightning and cold waves scoring highest of its 18 hazards and $262 million a year in expected losses.
How many federal disaster declarations has Jefferson County had?
OpenFEMA lists 37 federal disaster declarations that included Jefferson County since 1970, not counting 2 for COVID-19; the latest is EM-3618-AL (Hurricane Helene, declared 26 September 2024). Another 1 Alabama declarations were made statewide without a county list.
How many tornadoes have hit Jefferson County?
NOAA's Storm Prediction Center recorded 109 tornadoes touching Jefferson County from 1950 to 2025. The deadliest: 27 Apr 2011, EF4, 80.7 mi path, 64 killed, 1500 injured (deaths and injuries are for the whole path).
Is the National Risk Index a flood zone map?
No. The National Risk Index is a planning-level estimate for a whole county, built for nationwide comparison. It does not tell you the flood zone or the risk of a single property: for that, look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center (msc.fema.gov) and ask your local floodplain manager.