Counties with the most tornadoes in Alabama

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Alabama that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Alabama.

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#50. Dallas County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (2.25 per 100 square miles)
- #892 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#49. Coosa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (2.77 per 100 square miles)
- #605 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#48. Baldwin County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 44 (2.77 per 100 square miles)
- #602 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#47. Crenshaw County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.79 per 100 square miles)
- #591 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#46. Russell County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (2.81 per 100 square miles)
- #585 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#45. Choctaw County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (2.85 per 100 square miles)
- #567 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#44. Chambers County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (2.85 per 100 square miles)
- #566 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#43. Calhoun County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (2.97 per 100 square miles)
- #511 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#42. Bullock County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (3.05 per 100 square miles)
- #480 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#41. Geneva County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (3.13 per 100 square miles)
- #448 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#40. Chilton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 22 (3.18 per 100 square miles)
- #428 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#39. Etowah County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (3.18 per 100 square miles)
- #427 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#38. Jackson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (3.43 per 100 square miles)
- #344 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 4

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#37. Macon County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 21 (3.45 per 100 square miles)
- #341 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#36. Dale County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 20 (3.56 per 100 square miles)
- #310 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#35. Barbour County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 32 (3.62 per 100 square miles)
- #301 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#34. Tallapoosa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (3.63 per 100 square miles)
- #296 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 4

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#33. Pickens County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 32 (3.63 per 100 square miles)
- #295 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#32. Greene County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 24 (3.71 per 100 square miles)
- #281 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#31. Lauderdale County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (3.74 per 100 square miles)
- #277 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#30. Marion County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (3.77 per 100 square miles)
- #271 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#29. Shelby County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 32 (4.08 per 100 square miles)
- #221 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#28. Marengo County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 40 (4.09 per 100 square miles)
- #214 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#27. St. Clair County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (4.11 per 100 square miles)
- #210 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#26. Walker County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 33 (4.17 per 100 square miles)
- #203 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#25. Lawrence County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (4.20 per 100 square miles)
- #198 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#24. Montgomery County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 33 (4.21 per 100 square miles)
- #196 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#23. Lamar County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (4.30 per 100 square miles)
- #185 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#22. Perry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 31 (4.31 per 100 square miles)
- #182 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#21. Bibb County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 27 (4.34 per 100 square miles)
- #179 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#20. Mobile County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 54 (4.39 per 100 square miles)
- #171 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#19. Henry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (4.45 per 100 square miles)
- #161 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#18. Pike County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 30 (4.46 per 100 square miles)
- #158 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#17. Houston County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 26 (4.48 per 100 square miles)
- #155 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#16. Jefferson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 50 (4.50 per 100 square miles)
- #153 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#15. Winston County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (4.57 per 100 square miles)
- #146 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#14. Tuscaloosa County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 61 (4.62 per 100 square miles)
- #138 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#13. Colbert County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 28 (4.72 per 100 square miles)
- #126 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#12. Morgan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 29 (5.01 per 100 square miles)
- #106 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 4

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#11. Lee County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 32 (5.27 per 100 square miles)
- #90 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#10. DeKalb County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 45 (5.79 per 100 square miles)
- #59 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#9. Autauga County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 35 (5.89 per 100 square miles)
- #56 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#8. Fayette County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (5.89 per 100 square miles)
- #54 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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#7. Elmore County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 37 (5.98 per 100 square miles)
- #52 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

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#6. Madison County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 48 (5.99 per 100 square miles)
- #50 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

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#5. Hale County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 39 (6.06 per 100 square miles)
- #49 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 4

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#4. Blount County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 40 (6.20 per 100 square miles)
- #47 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#3. Cullman County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 53 (7.21 per 100 square miles)
- #24 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#2. Marshall County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 43 (7.60 per 100 square miles)
- #20 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

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#1. Limestone County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 53 (9.47 per 100 square miles)
- #6 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

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