Heavy Rain in Alabama
Every heavy rain event the National Weather Service has filed in Alabama, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
The most significant on the map
The most significant heavy rain episodes in Alabama.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 247
- Deaths
- 11
- Injuries
- 11
- Damage
- $671,000
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, January 23, 2012An upper level low pressure system developed over the Great Plains and moved east across the Ohio River Valley, dragging a cold front through the lower Mississippi River Valley.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, April 15, 2011A potent storm system, which wreaked havoc across the eastern half of the United States on April 14-16, produced a significant and historic tornado outbreak across Central Alabama on April 15. Forty tornadoes, 30 of which touched down in Central Alabama, occurred in the state.
- Tornado and Hail in Alabama, March 26 to 28, 2011A stalled boundary sagged southward into North Central Alabama on Saturday, March 26, and became a focus for convection ahead of an approaching storm system.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, April 28 to 30, 2014A large scale severe weather event began Saturday, April 26 and ended Wednesday, April 30th, producing several waves of severe weather from the Central Plains eastward through the Deep South, and across a significant portion of the eastern United States.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, April 28 to 29, 2014A tornado outbreak occurred during the late afternoon and evening across the central Tennessee Valley on the 28th. Several cyclic supercells produced tornadoes, some of which were strong. Very heavy rainfall occurred in some areas as well.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, March 2, 2012On March 2, 2012, a strong cold front moved through Central Alabama. Severe thunderstorms developed along and ahead of this front. Some of these thunderstorms were supercells. These supercells produced damage across southern and eastern sections of the area.
- Tornadoes and Hail in Alabama, January 10 to 11, 2008A strong low pressure system and associated cold front caused numerous severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes across central Alabama.
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Alabama, May 26 to 27, 2008On the morning of June 27th, strong to severe thunderstorms formed along multiple pre-frontal boundaries ahead of a slow moving cold front over northern Tennessee.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Alabama, December 25 to 27, 2015Numerous systems affecting the Tennessee valley earlier in the month set the stage widespread flash flooding and areal flooding across much of the region during the final week of 2015.
- Heavy Rain in Alabama, September 3, 2001Heavy rain weakened the root system of a large oak tree that toppled onto a passing truck killing a 15-year old male passenger and injuring the driver.
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Alabama, July 23, 2007Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms developed in the afternoon.
- Heavy Rain in Alabama, June 28, 1999Heavy rainfall earlier in the day caused many local creeks and streams to rise significantly. According to newspaper reports, a 3 year old boy drowned and an 8 year old boy sustained minor injuries while canoeing on a rain swollen creek after heavy rains had ended.
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Alabama, June 19 to 20, 2021A band of very heavy rainfall developed well north of the track of Tropical Depression Claudette that moved across central Alabama. This rain band occurred during the late afternoon through the evening of the 19th into the very early morning hours of the 20th.
- Damaging Wind and Heavy Rain in Alabama, May 6, 2026A line of heavy thunderstorms moved east through northwest Alabama shortly after daybreak. The storms produced gusty winds knocked down a few trees. The rainfall contributed to a pickup truck hydroplaning off of westbound U.S.
- Flash Flood and Hail in Alabama, April 4, 2011A line of showers and thunderstorms moved across central Alabama on April 4th, out ahead of a strong cold front. This line of storms produced widespread damaging winds and large hail.
- Heavy Rain in Alabama, March 5, 2004Heavy rain and winds of 25 to 30 miles an hour moved across the Bellamy area. One tree fell down due to the saturated ground and high wind around 8:53 PM CST. The tree landed on a 50 year old man.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, September 4 to 7, 2011A tropical depression developed in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, September 1 and strengthened as it remained nearly stationary becoming Tropical Storm Lee Friday afternoon, September 2.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Alabama, April 20 to 21, 2011A long lived quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) developed in northern and central Mississippi and tracked eastward through northern Alabama during the early morning hours of the 20th.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, April 2 to 3, 2009A powerful low pressure system tracked from Arkansas into the Ohio Valley, lifting a warm front north during the afternoon, and pushing a cold front during the evening hours.
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Alabama, December 24 to 28, 2015A low level boundary across southeast Alabama became the focus for heavy rainfall and severe weather during the early morning hours of December 24th. As the boundary lifted northward, the focus for heavy rainfall and severe weather shifted into north central Alabama.
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Alabama, September 16 to 20, 2009A slow moving upper level disturbance helped spark several days of thunderstorms across Central Alabama. The storms were slow moving, and produced very heavy rainfall in some locations, which led to flash flooding.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Alabama, August 24 to 25, 2007A slow moving cold front pushed into unstable, tropical air overnight on the 24th, producing wind damage and flash flooding in many areas.
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Alabama, April 3, 2017Thunderstorms developed ahead of a strong cold front and moved across the area. These storms produced high winds, large hail and a weak tornado.
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Alabama, January 5 to 8, 2009An area of low pressure developed along a stalled frontal boundary across northeastern Alabama. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms developed along and behind the front as the low moved northeast.
- Tornado and Flash Flood in Alabama, October 13 to 14, 2014A strong cold front swept across the region late on the 13th into the 14th across Ohio, Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys and interacted with a moist and unstable air mass. This led to two waves of severe thunderstorms for northern Alabama.
More
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24.