Which Alabama county had the most tornadoes in 2022?
2022 was a really busy year for tornadoes in Alabama.
According to the National Weather Service there were 98 confirmed tornadoes in the state in 2022, the most of any year since 1950 — except 2011.
The weather service is highlighting this fact as a part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, which began on Feb. 6 and runs until Feb. 10. The four weather service offices that serve the state (Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile and Tallahassee, Fla.) will spend this week putting out information to help you prepare for the upcoming spring tornado season, which begins in March and stays active through April and May.
The annual sales tax holiday for storm supplies is also coming up on Feb. 24-26.
The weather service said 43 of Alabama’s 67 counties were affected by tornadoes in 2022.
Some more than others, much more.
Two of the 43 counties that had to deal with tornadoes in 2022 had tornado numbers in the double digits. And they are neighbors.
Mobile County came in at No. 1 for the number of confirmed tornadoes in 2022 with 12. All of them were either EF-0 or EF-1 tornadoes, according to the weather service.
Next was Baldwin County with 10. All of those were also either EF-0s or EF-1s.
Third place was a tie. Choctaw and Tuscaloosa counties both had seven.
Elmore, Greene and Hale counties had six each as well.
Many of those twisters occured on the same two days — March 30 and Oct. 29. Those were two big “tornado days” in 2022. There were a total of 16 tornado days in 2022, or days where at least one tornado was confirmed in Alabama.
At least 20 torandoes touched down in Alabama on March 30 — including the EF-3 that left a trail of damage through parts of Shelby, Bibb and Perry counties and injuried two people.
Mobile County had five of those 20 tornadoes on March 30. All were EF-0s except for one EF-1. Baldwin County also had two EF-0 twisters that day.
Another big tornado day for Alabama was Oct. 29, with 11 confirmed tornadoes statewide.
Six tornadoes were confirmed in Baldwin County that day, including three EF-1s and three EF-0s. Mobile County had five tornadoes, four EF-0s and one EF-1.
Another big tornado event in 2022 was Nov. 29-30, with a total of 14 tornadoes statewide.
Some other tornado stats from 2022:
* March was the busiest month for tornadoes with 32. Next was April (20), November (12), October (11) and February (9).
* There were no tornadoes in June, July, August and September.
* The strongest tornadoes of 2022 in Alabama were EF-3s. There were two of them.
The first EF-3 was the tornado that tracked through Shelby, Bibb and Perry counties on March 30. It had maximum estimated winds of 145 mph in southeast Bibb and northeast Perry counties. It was also a long-track tornado with a path length of more than 29 miles.
The second happened on Nov. 30 in Washington County. It had estimated winds of 140 mph. It had a path length of 15.43 miles.
* The majority of tornadoes in 2022 were EF-0s with wind speeds ranging from 65 to 85 mph. There were 39 EF-1s (86-110 mph winds) and 14 EF-2s (111 to 135 mph winds).
* Three people were killed by tornadoes in Alabama in 2022. Sixteen people were injured.
The deadliest torando was an EF-2 that carved an almost 10-mile track through Elmore and Montgomery counties on Nov. 30. Two people were killed and one person was seriously injured in that storm in the Flatwood community when a tree fell on a manufactured home.
Another person was killed in Hale County on Feb. 3, 2022, during an EF-2 tornado that tossed a double-wide manufactured home about 50 yards across a road. Two others were seriously injured as well. That tornado had maximum winds of about 135 mph, according to the weather service.
* The longest tornado track in 2022 was by an EF-2 that tracked through parts of Choctaw and Marengo counties on March 30. It had an estimated path length of 35.17 miles, according to the weather service. Other long-track tornadoes in 2022 (storms on the ground for 25 miles or more) were the deadly EF-2 in Hale and Greene counties on Feb. 3 (25.87-mile track) and the EF-3 tornado in Perry, Bibb and Shelby counties on March 30 (29.24-mile track).
* The majority of tornadoes in 2022 were on the ground for 2 miles or less.
* Tornadoes touched down in every hour of the day in 2022 except for the 7-8 a.m. time frame, according to the weather service.
Here is a look at the confirmed tornadoes in 2022. The EF (Enhanced Fujita Scale) rating is the storm’s peak intensity, but wind speeds varied along each storm’s path:
Baldwin County
Oct. 29 — EF-1
Oct. 29 — EF-0
Oct. 29 — EF-0
Oct. 29 — EF-1
Oct. 29 — EF-1
Oct. 29 — EF-0
May 6 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-0
March 30 — EF-0
March 22 — EF-1
Barbour County
Nov. 30 — EF-0
April 5 — EF-1
March 9 — EF-1
Bibb County
March 30 — EF-3
March 22 — EF-0
Feb. 3 — EF-2
Blount County
Nov. 30 — EF-0
Nov. 30 — EF-0
Bullock County
April 5 — EF-1
Butler County
Jan. 9 — EF-0
Chambers County
April 5 — EF-0
Choctaw County
Dec. 14 — EF-2
Dec. 14 — EF-2
April 5 — EF-2
March 30 — EF-2
March 30 — EF-1
March 22 — EF-1
March 22 — EF-2
Clarke County
April 5 — EF-1
April 5 — EF-2
March 30 — EF-1
Colbert County
Jan. 1 — EF-0
Conecuh County
March 9 — EF-1
Jan. 9 — EF-0
Crenshaw County
April 5 — EF-0
April 5 — EF-2
Dallas County
March 30 — EF-0
DeKalb County
May 25 — EF-0
Elmore County
Nov. 30 — EF-2
Nov. 30 — EF-2
April 5 — EF-0
April 5 — EF-2
Feb. 3 — EF-0
Feb. 3 — EF-0
Fayette County
Feb. 17 — EF-1
Geneva County
Nov. 30 — EF-1
Nov. 30 — EF-1
April 5 — EF-1
April 5 — EF-0
Greene County
Nov. 29 — EF-1
April 13 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-1
March 22 — EF-0
March 22 — EF-0
Feb. 3 — EF-2
Hale County
Nov. 29 — EF-1
April 13 — EF-0
April 13 — EF-1
March 22 — EF-0
Feb. 3 — EF-2
Feb. 3 — EF-2
Houston County
April 5 — EF-0
April 5 — EF-0
Jefferson County
Feb. 17– EF-1
Feb. 17– EF-1
Lauderdale County
March 22 — EF-0
Limestone County
Jan. 1 — EF-0
Jan. 1 — EF-1
Lowndes County
March 30 — EF-0
Macon County
April 5 — EF-1
Madison County
Feb. 22 — EF-0
Jan. 1 — EF-0
Jan. 1 — EF-0
Marengo County
Nov. 30 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-2
Mobile County
Oct. 29 — EF-0
Oct. 29 — EF-0
Oct. 29 — EF-1
Oct. 29 — EF-0
Oct. 29 — EF-0
May 6 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-0
March 30 — EF-0
March 30 — EF-0
March 30 — EF-0
March 9 — EF-1
Monroe County
April 5 — EF-1
Montgomery County
Nov. 30 — EF-2
April 5 — EF-1
April 5 — EF-2
Morgan County
May 26 — EF-1
Perry County
March 30 — EF-3
March 30 — EF-2
Pickens County
March 30 — EF-1
Pike County
Nov. 30 — EF-0
April 5 — EF-1
April 5 — EF-2
Jan. 9 — EF-0
Shelby County
March 30 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-3
March 22 — EF-0
Feb. 17 — EF-1
St. Clair County
Feb. 17 — EF-1
Sumter County
Dec. 14 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-1
Feb. 3 — EF-2
Tallapoosa County
April 5 — EF-0
Tuscaloosa County
April 13 — EF-0
March 30 — EF-1
March 30 — EF-1
March 22 — EF-0
March 22 — EF-0
Feb. 17 — EF-1
Feb. 3 — EF-2
Walker County
Nov. 30 — EF-0
Washington County
Dec. 14 — EF-2
Nov. 30 — EF-3
Wilcox County
March 30 — EF-1
Alabama’s Severe Weather Awareness Week continues through Feb. 10.
See more from your local National Weather Service offices here: