Tornadoes · United States · Alabama

Tornadoes in Sumter County, Alabama

31 tornadoes have crossed Sumter County since 1950, 50th of the 67 counties in Alabama with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.5 years. They have killed 7 people and injured 29. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Now

Tornadoes
31
Deaths
7
Injuries
29
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
EF4, April 27, 2011

The deadliest in Sumter County

  1. EF4, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, Choctaw, Sumter, Marengo and Perry counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 27, 20117 killed, 17 injured

The strongest

  1. EF4, Smith, Jasper, Clarke, Choctaw, Sumter, Marengo and Perry counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 27, 2011EF4, 122.0 mi (196 km)
  2. EF3, Neshoba, Kemper and Sumter counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 15, 2011EF3, 48.5 mi (78 km)
  3. EF3, Kemper, Sumter and Pickens counties, Mississippi and AlabamaApril 27, 2011EF3, 23.7 mi (38 km)
  4. F3, Sumter County, AlabamaDecember 18, 1967F3, 7.6 mi (12 km)
  5. F2, Sumter County, AlabamaDecember 12, 1961F2, 24.2 mi (39 km)
  6. EF2, Sumter County, AlabamaFebruary 3, 2022EF2, 15.5 mi (25 km)
  7. EF2, Sumter County, AlabamaJanuary 12, 2023EF2, 12.9 mi (21 km)
  8. EF2, Sumter County, AlabamaApril 15, 2011EF2, 8.9 mi (14 km)
  9. EF2, Sumter and Greene counties, AlabamaApril 15, 2011EF2, 8.7 mi (14 km)
  10. F2, Sumter County, AlabamaNovember 22, 1992F2, 6.0 mi (10 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 20 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Sumter County. Each year links to every tornado in Alabama that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20251EF2
202311EF2
20223EF2
20212EF1
20181EF0
20152EF1
20141EF1
20122EF0
20117726EF4
20101EF0
20051F0
19941F1
19921F2
19901F0
19841F0
19831F1
197612F1
19731F1
19671F3
19611F2

Every tornado that crossed Sumter County

31 tornadoes, newest first. 3 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files them under that state rather than Alabama.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
March 15, 20255:20 PM CDTEF2Sumter3.3650
January 12, 20239:24 AM CSTEF2Sumter12.94401
December 14, 20223:17 PM CSTEF1Sumter4.4225
March 30, 20228:51 PM CDTEF1Sumter5.6600
February 3, 202212:52 PM CSTEF2Sumter15.5900
March 17, 202112:57 PM CDTEF1Sumter9.8475
March 17, 202112:31 PM CDTEF0Sumter0.370
February 7, 20185:11 AM CSTEF0Sumter2.0150
January 3, 20154:36 PM CSTEF1Sumter1.2200
January 3, 20154:06 PM CSTEF0Sumter0.7100
April 28, 20149:30 PM CDTEF1Sumter1.0150
January 23, 20123:21 AM CSTEF0Sumter1.150
January 23, 20122:36 AM CSTEF0Sumter0.4100
November 16, 20117:07 AM CSTEF2Sumter1.56001$200,000
April 27, 20115:42 PM CDTEF4Smith to AL122.01,050717$26 million
April 27, 20113:47 PM CDTEF3Kemper to AL23.71,0562$3.1 million
April 15, 20114:35 PM CDTEF2Sumter8.73251
April 15, 20113:53 PM CDTEF2Sumter8.9200$3.9 million
April 15, 20113:03 PM CDTEF2Sumter4.5200$2.1 million
April 15, 201112:53 PM CDTEF3Neshoba to AL48.51,7605$19 million
April 24, 201010:44 AM CDTEF0Sumter0.130
September 25, 20059:42 PM CDTF0Sumter2.850$20,000
April 5, 19949:30 PM CDTF1Sumter8.0100$50,000 to $500,000
November 22, 19923:30 AM CSTF2Sumter6.0100$500,000 to $5 million
February 15, 19902:20 PM CSTF0Sumter0.310
May 3, 198411:48 AM CDTF0Sumter0.130$50 to $500
December 3, 19834:20 PM CSTF1Sumter0.250$50,000 to $500,000
March 12, 19764:50 PM CSTF1Sumter1.01502$5,000 to $50,000
March 16, 197310:20 AM CSTF1Sumter1.0100$50,000 to $500,000
December 18, 19676:25 AM GMT-6F3Sumter7.610$5,000 to $50,000
December 12, 19614:15 AM GMT-6F2Sumter24.210$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Sumter CountyThe forecast for Sumter CountyThe live radar over Sumter CountyEvery county in Alabama

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.