Storm risk in Morgan County, Alabama

FEMA's overall hazard score for Morgan County is 88.84 (Relatively Moderate), 352nd of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 48.98 (Relatively Low), strong wind 90.49 (Relatively High) and tornado 98.35 (Relatively High). Expected hail loss is $7.87 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 45 hail reports in Morgan County from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.

Morgan County: expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings for hail, strong wind and tornado, on a log scale, against all U.S. counties and the counties of AL$0.1$1$10$100$1,000Hail: $7.87 per $1 million, 2,229th of 3,126 rated counties$7.87Hail2,229th of 3,126 countiesStrong wind: $22 per $1 million, 1,486th of 3,121 rated counties$22Strong wind1,486th of 3,121 countiesTornado: $981 per $1 million, 22nd of 3,144 rated counties$981Tornado22nd of 3,144 counties
  • Morgan County, coloured by its FEMA rating
  • all U.S. counties
  • each county in the state
  • U.S. median
  • state median

Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.

How FEMA rates Morgan County

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in AL
OverallRelatively Moderate 88.84352 of 3,1448 of 67
HailRelatively Low 48.981,605 of 3,12613 of 67
Strong windRelatively High 90.49300 of 3,12611 of 67
TornadoRelatively High 98.3553 of 3,1263 of 67

Expected yearly loss, in dollars

HazardThis county, total a yearPer $1M of buildingsState median countyU.S. median countyRank per $1M, U.S.Rank per $1M, state
Hail$191,460$7.87 $7.87$22 2,229 of 3,12634 of 67
Strong wind$533,906$22 $19$20 1,486 of 3,12129 of 67
Tornado$23,847,259$981 $433$199 22 of 3,1441 of 67

Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.

What stands out in Morgan County

  • FEMA expects hail in Morgan County to cost $7.87 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.35 times the U.S. median and 1.00 times the AL county median, ranked 2,229th of 3,126 counties nationally and 34th of 67 in Alabama.
  • FEMA expects strong wind in Morgan County to cost $22 per $1 million of buildings a year: 1.08 times the U.S. median and 1.15 times the AL county median, ranked 1,486th of 3,121 counties nationally and 29th of 67 in Alabama.
  • FEMA expects tornado in Morgan County to cost $981 per $1 million of buildings a year: 4.93 times the U.S. median and 2.26 times the AL county median, ranked 22nd of 3,144 counties nationally and 1st of 67 in Alabama.
  • Applying FEMA's estimate to a $193,000 home, the average yearly loss in Morgan County is about $1.52 for hail and $4.24 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $4.31 and $3.93.
  • If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Morgan County meets about 26.7 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
  • Built in 1983, the median home in Morgan County is 43 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 77.4% of its 53,569 homes are at least 26 years old.
  • March to June holds 31 of the 45 hail reports in Morgan County (69 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.

What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year

Enter a home value. The calculator applies Morgan County’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.

$1.52hail, a year; $4.31 at the U.S. median county rate
$4.24strong wind, a year; $3.93 at the U.S. median county rate
$115hail and wind together over 20 years, at today’s rate

Formula: home value × Morgan County yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $191,460 ÷ $24,316,199,644 = 0.0000079. Wind: $533,906 ÷ $24,316,199,644 = 0.0000220. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.

Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.

Morgan County in plain numbers

  • Morgan County scores 88.84 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Moderate): 352nd of 3,144 rated counties and 8th of 67 in Alabama.
  • Hail scores 48.98 (Relatively Low). FEMA expects $191,460 of hail damage to buildings in Morgan County a year, which is $7.87 per $1 million of buildings, 0.35 times the U.S. median.
  • Strong wind scores 90.49 (Relatively High) with $533,906 of expected yearly building loss in Morgan County: $22 per $1 million of buildings, 1.08 times the U.S. median.
  • Tornado scores 98.35 (Relatively High) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $23,847,259, counting everything exposed, or $981 per $1 million of buildings in Morgan County.
  • FEMA's own event record for Morgan County averages 4.68 hail events and 5.74 strong-wind events a year.
  • NOAA logged 45 hail reports in Morgan County between 2014 and June 2026, on 17 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 2.75 inches.
  • In Morgan County, FEMA counts buildings worth 24.32 billion dollars and 123,349 residents.
  • Social vulnerability is Relatively High in Morgan County.
  • Community resilience there is Relatively Moderate, for 123,349 residents.
  • 1 city in Morgan County is covered on this site: Decatur. 8 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Decatur is $5,810 to $12,865.
  • Morgan County ranks 145 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 54 for wind and 3 for tornado.
  • In Morgan County, April is the busiest month with 13 of the 45 reports (29 percent), against 1 report in October.
  • Morgan County's worst year was 2025, with 3 hail days at 1 inch or more and 13 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 1.33 such days a year, one about every 9.0 months.
  • The median home in Morgan County was built in 1983; 44.7% of its 53,569 housing units date from before 1980, 77.4% from before 2000 and 8.0% from 2010 on.
  • Census puts the median home value in Morgan County at $193,000, and 72.5% of homes are lived in by their owners.
  • 2,416 single-family building permits were issued in Morgan County from 2014 to 2025, about 45.1 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2023.
  • NOAA lists 14 tornado tracks in Morgan County since 2014; the strongest was an EF3 on November 29, 2016 near Danville, 6.2 miles long.
  • The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Morgan County is 81 mph on October 13, 2014 at Cotton Town.
  • The nearest county with a page here is Madison County, 24 miles from the centre of Morgan County; its hail score is 51.40.
  • Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 13 roofing contractor establishments in Morgan County in 2023, one for every 4,121 homes.

The hail record of Morgan County, year by year

NOAA logged 45 reports in Morgan County; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 17 days. That is 1.3 such days a year; the median county in NOAA’s file has 1.8.

Morgan County: NOAA hail reports per year, 2014 to June 2026, with the number of days that had hail of 1 inch or more024681012142014: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2.75 inch142015: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.25 inch152016: 1 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch162017: 7 reports, 3 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.25 inch172018: 2 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch182019: 3 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch192020: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch202021: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch212022: 1 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.88 inch222023: 4 reports, 3 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch232024: 4 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch242025: 13 reports, 3 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.5 inch252026: 5 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 2 inch26*
  • reports
  • days with hail of 1 inch or more
  • * 2026 runs to June only
Morgan County: NOAA hail reports by calendar month, 2014 to June 2026January: 0 reports0JanFebruary: 8 reports8FebMarch: 5 reports5MarApril: 13 reports13AprMay: 10 reports10MayJune: 3 reports3JunJuly: 0 reports0JulAugust: 3 reports3AugSeptember: 1 reports1SepOctober: 1 reports1OctNovember: 1 reports1NovDecember: 0 reports0Dec

Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: April, 13 reports.

The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
YearReportsDays, 1 inch or moreDays, 1.75 inch or moreLargest stoneDamage reported
20141112.75 in–
20152101.25 in–
20161000.88 in–
20177301.25 in–
20182111.75 in–
20193111.75 in–
20201101 in–
20211101 in–
20221000.88 in–
20234321.75 in–
20244101 in–
202513301.5 in–
2026 (to June)5112 in–

Biggest hail days in Morgan County

DateLargest stoneReports that dayDamage reportedNear
October 8, 20142.75 in1none recordedSomerville
February 26, 20262 in4none recordedDanville
April 7, 20191.75 in3none recordedTalucah
June 25, 20231.75 in2none recordedSomerville
March 19, 20181.75 in1none recordedNeel

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Morgan County the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Morgan County

1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.25 in hail1.5 in hail1.5 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail2 in hail2.75 in hail Decatur
  • 231 to 1.74 in
  • 51.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 12.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 2.75 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

29 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Wind and tornado records for Morgan County

Fastest gusts in Morgan County

DateGustNear
October 13, 201481 mphCotton Town
August 28, 201676 mphLynntown
April 3, 201875 mphMoulton Hgts
April 3, 201875 mphHartselle

Strongest tornado tracks in Morgan County

DateScaleLengthInjured / killedNear
November 29, 2016EF36.2 mi0 / 0Danville
March 24, 2023EF212 mi0 / 1Danville Arpt
March 24, 2023EF24.94 mi0 / 0Priceville
March 31, 2016EF29.32 mi0 / 0Hartselle

14 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.

How old the roofs are

Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Morgan County’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 1.33 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.

Morgan County: share of homes by decade built, with the hail days at 1 inch or more that an original roof from each decade has met at the county's 2014 to 2025 ratepre-1940: 3.3% of homes3.3%<19401211940s: 2.8% of homes2.8%1940s1081950s: 7.8% of homes7.8%1950s951960s: 13.4% of homes13.4%1960s811970s: 17.4% of homes17.4%1970s681980s: 16.7% of homes16.7%1980s551990s: 16.0% of homes16%1990s412000s: 14.6% of homes14.6%2000s282010s: 7.2% of homes7.2%2010s152020+: 0.8% of homes0.8%2020+4

Bars: share of 53,569 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.

Median year built1983
Built before 198044.7%
Built before 200077.4%
Built since 20108.0%
Owner-occupied72.5%
Median home value$193,000
Single-family permits, 2014 to 20252,416
Permits per 1,000 homes45.1

Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.

Roofers and past disasters in Morgan County

Roofing firms in Morgan County

Roofing contractor establishments, 202313
Change since 2016+6 (+86%)
Homes per roofing firm4,121
Median across counties5,189
Employees, 202348

Source for Morgan County: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160.

Nearby counties

The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Morgan County's.

CountyMilesOverallHail lossHail, times hereWind lossWind, times hereNOAA hail reports
Madison County, AL24 Relatively High $3.370.43$170.76146
Etowah County, AL55 Relatively Moderate $121.57$120.5636
Jefferson County, AL66 Relatively High $0.680.09$4.710.2155
Tuscaloosa County, AL90 Relatively Moderate $2.250.29$150.6827
Lee County, AL157 Relatively Low $101.31$4.880.2225
Montgomery County, AL160 Relatively Moderate $5.700.72$180.8216

More Alabama counties, nearest first

All 194 counties, with a filter by state and sorting

Cities and ZIP areas in Morgan County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 8 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Decatur 35601 (100%) Roofers

Storm hit your roof in Morgan County? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Morgan County?

FEMA's National Risk Index gives Morgan County an overall score of 88.84 (Relatively Moderate), 352nd of 3,144. Hail scores 48.98 (Relatively Low), strong wind 90.49 (Relatively High) and tornado 98.35 (Relatively High).

In Morgan County, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?

A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 45 for Morgan County between 2014 and June 2026, on 17 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 2.75 inches.

What do hail and wind cost a home in Morgan County each year, on average?

Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $193,000: FEMA's estimate is about $1.52 a year for hail and $4.24 for wind, before any deductible, against $4.31 and $3.93 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.

How does Morgan County compare with the rest of Alabama?

Per $1 million of buildings Morgan County loses $7.87 to hail a year, against $7.87 in the median county of the state. Among 67 rated counties it is 13th for hail, 11th for strong wind and 3rd for tornado.

How old are the roofs in Morgan County?

The median home was built in 1983, 43 years ago, and 77.4% of the 53,569 housing units in Morgan County date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

Sources for Morgan County: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Morgan County; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Morgan County; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in Morgan County. Planning-level information about Morgan County, not an inspection and not insurance advice.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).