2 federal flood & hurricane disasters
Share of the whole county outline, rivers and lakes included; parts FEMA hasn’t mapped count as zero.
Shaded areas are FEMA’s mapped flood hazard zones in and around Fayette County, Alabama. Zoomed out they are simplified; at street level the map switches to FEMA’s exact layer. Tap anywhere to check that spot, or search an address above.
Flash flooding from slow-moving thunderstorms and heavy rainfall systems dominates the flood risk profile in Fayette County, supplemented by occasional tropical storm and tropical depression activity. Over the last 30 years, the NOAA Storm Events Database records 15 flash flood events, alongside 2 tropical storm events and 1 tropical depression event.
Recent history illustrates these weather patterns. On February 17, 2022, a dynamic storm system and supercells produced heavy rain that caused flash flooding along and north of I-20. Shortly after, on February 23, 2022, a slow-moving cold front dropped 2 to 3 inches of rain over the northwest portions of central Alabama, resulting in additional flash flooding. A more recent event occurred on April 6, 2025, when slow-moving thunderstorms developed as a cold front slowly progressed through Central Alabama, producing widespread flooding from early morning to late afternoon.
Property owners and residents in low-lying areas, near creeks and streams, and within designated Special Flood Hazard Areas should pay the closest attention to these recurring flash flood risks during severe weather and heavy rainfall events.
Summary written from NOAA storm reports and NFIP claims for this county. Not a prediction.
7 NOAA storm reports from Fayette County describe what happened, in the words of the forecasters who covered it. Read the Alabama flood stories →
21 federal disaster declarations since 1974, 2 of them floods, coastal storms or hurricanes.
| Disaster | Began |
|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene | Sep 22, 2024 |
| Hurricane Sally | Sep 14, 2020 |
| Severe Storms And Flooding | Feb 5, 2020 |
| Hurricane Irma | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Dec 23, 2015 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Straight-line Winds | Apr 27, 2011 |
| Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, And Flooding | Apr 15, 2011 |
| Hurricane Gustav | Aug 29, 2008 |
Weather and water disasters only; most recent first. Source: OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations.
18 since 1996: 15 flash floods.
| Event | Date | Damage |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood | Apr 6, 2025 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 23, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Feb 17, 2022 | — |
| Flash Flood | Jul 4, 2013 | — |
| Flash Flood | May 8, 2012 | — |
| Flash Flood | Apr 20, 2011 | $30,000 |
| Flash Flood | Mar 9, 2011 | — |
| Flash Flood | Sep 20, 2009 | — |
— = no damage estimate in the record. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Flash Flood · Apr 6, 2025. Deep-layer ridging over the Southeast United States held up a trough over the Central United States for the first few days of April, leading to a prolonged and significant severe weather and flooding event from Texas to Ohio and West Virginia along a stalled boundary. As the ridge began to retreat eastward, a cold front slowly progressed through Central Alabama on April 6, with an all-hazards weather event unfoldi…
Flash Flood · Feb 23, 2022. A line of thunderstorms ahead of a slow moving cold front produced periods of heavy rainfall over a several period over the northwest portions of central Alabama. Rainfall totals averaged 2-3 inches.
Flash Flood · Feb 17, 2022. A highly sheared and dynamic storm system produced numerous strong and severe thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours on February 17th. Several supercells developed along a pre-frontal trough, which produced a few tornadoes. Additionally, several rounds of heavy rain produced some flash flooding along and|north of I-20, and strong gradient winds ahead of the front caused scattered tree damage.
Flash Flood · Jul 4, 2013. The first week of July 2013 was a wet one as a plume of tropical moisture streamed northward from the Gulf of Mexico, across the southeastern United States, and northeastward along the Appalachians. With a persistent mid level trough to its west and a ridge to its east, this stream of moisture continued for many days. Precipitable water values reached over two inches locally and after several days of widespread ra…
National Weather Service narratives, lightly trimmed. Source: NOAA Storm Events Database.
Every colour on the map above is a place on this drawing: where the ground sits relative to the flood FEMA plans for.
If a building in Fayette County is in a high-risk zone (A or V) and its mortgage comes from a federally regulated or insured lender, or is federally backed, flood insurance is required.
Outside those zones it is optional, and often worth having: from 2014 to 2024 nearly one-third of NFIP claims came from outside the high-risk Special Flood Hazard Area. Since Risk Rating 2.0, NFIP premiums are set for each building, so the only reliable price is a quote: FloodSmart.gov or a local agent.