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Geraldine, Alabama

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Geraldine census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35974. The Survey maps it on the Painter quadrangle. 910 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,153 feet above sea level.

Geraldine within DeKalb County

Population over time

2 figures

Geraldine grew from 896 to 910 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010896
2020910+14 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 22 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

75 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 75 fires within 5 miles of Geraldine between 1998 and 2020, burning about 467 acres in total. None started naturally. 11 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning38
Missing data/not specified/undetermined19
Arson/incendiarism11
Equipment and vehicle use4
Recreation and ceremony1
Other causes1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2016Debris and open burning10 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160907-7
4 September 2002Debris and open burning4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20140930-002
28 September 2016Debris and open burning1.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160928-21
28 September 2016Debris and open burning1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160928-13
24 September 2019Debris and open burning6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20190924-22
18 September 2010Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
17 September 2016Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160917-2

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in DeKalb County

Storms near this place

51 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Geraldine in 51 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 37 thunderstorm wind, 13 hail, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1998Tornado (F1)Geraldine$95,000A small tornado destroyed a few barns near Geraldine. Numerous trees were also snapped or uprooted.
April 1998HailGeraldine$50,000Baseball size hail was reported in Geraldine.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$20,000Several trees and power lines were blown down from near Geraldine to Fyffe to Rainsville. A few homes received minor roof damage and several roads were temporarily flooded from heavy rain in a short period of time. Over 1,000 customers were without power for several hours due to lightning strikes and wind.
February 1999Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$15,000One trailer was damaged and trees were downed on CR 39.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$13,000Severe thunderstorm winds peeled a large portion of a mobile home roof off the home on county road 28. Winds were estimated at 70 mph.
January 1997Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$9,000no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$8,000Trees were blown down on CR 54.
September 1996Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$8,000no account filed
May 1997HailGeraldine$7,000Golf ball sized hail was reported in Geraldine.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$5,000Power lines were downed by thunderstorm winds just east-northeast of Geraldine, Alabama. Two trees were also downed by thunderstorm winds at the intersection of Highway 227 and County Road 46.
September 2012Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$5,000A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds onto County road 36, near Geraldine.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$5,000Severe thunderstorm winds flattened a large portion of a chicken house near the intersection of county roads 28 and 391 to the ground. Also, a tree was snapped in the same area and large branches were torn from trees. Winds were estimated at 80 mph.
January 1997HailGeraldine$5,000no account filed
August 2024Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$4,000A tree was knocked down, another uprooted, and a portion of a metal roof was blown off of a large barn at 11113 Alabama Highway 227. Time was estimated from radar.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$3,000Three power poles were knocked down along County Road 20 near County Road 104.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$2,000A large tree was knocked down onto a house along CR 329.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$2,000Multiple trees were knocked down near a cemetary on AL 227.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$2,000Severe thunderstorm winds knocked down power and telephone lines along highway 75, just southwest of Geraldine. Trees were also knocked down at this location.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$2,000Trees were knocked down in the city of Geraldine.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$2,000Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down in Geraldine and in other locations in southwest Dekalb County.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000A tree was knocked down on CR 20 near CR 104.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000A tree was knocked down across CR 54 in Geraldine. Time was estimated by radar.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000A tree was knocked down at 13808 Alabama on Highway 227. Time was estimated from radar data.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000A tree was knocked down at CR 20 near CR 104. Time estimated by radar.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000A power pole was reported down on CR 52 blocking the road.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000Trees were knocked down near 11968 Highway 227 in Geraldine.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$1,000A tree was blown down onto CR 52 in Geradline.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$500Tree limbs were knocked down into the roadway.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$500A large tree was knocked down into the intersection of CR 52 and Highway 227.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$500A tree and power lines were knocked down on CR 583.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$500A large tree was downed by thunderstorm winds on Highway 227 near Pine Street.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$500Tin roof torn off a building and damaged a vehicle along county road 329 in Geraldine.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$500A tree was knocked down along County Road 104 and Highway 227.
May 2019Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$200A tree was knocked down at a residence on Park Street in Geraldine. Time estimated by radar.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$200A 10 foot Bradford Pear tree was blown down on County Road 44.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindGeraldine$100A tree was knocked down at the intersection of CR 23 and Highway 75.
July 2023HailGeraldine-One inch diameter hail was reported in Geraldine.
April 2021HailGeraldine-Quarter-sized hail was reported in Geraldine.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindGeraldine-A tree was downed onto a mobile home by thunderstorm winds.
March 2012HailGeraldine-Quarter sized hail was reported.
July 2012HailGeraldine-Hail up to penny sized was reported along Highway 75 and County Road 329.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindGeraldine-Damaging straight-line winds resulted in reports of trees down along Highway 227 between Geraldine and Grove Oak.
March 2010HailGeraldine-The line of thunderstorms that produced large hail in portions of Marshall county continued to move northeast from Marshall county into Dekalb county. Near Geraldine, nickel to quarter sized hail was reported to the depth of 8 inches on highway 75. Alabama Department of Transportation crews were called in to clear the hail off a bridge on highway 75. Numerous accidents were reported due to the slick roads caused by the accumulated hail.
April 2009HailGeraldine-Nickel to quarter size hail was reported in Geraldine.
March 2008HailGeraldine-Nickel sized hail was reported near Alabama Highway 75 and Alabama Highway 227.
May 2008HailGeraldine-A severe thunderstorm produced golfball size hail at the Geraldine Elementary School.
June 2005HailGeraldine-Nickel size hail was reported.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindGeraldine-A few trees were blown down.
December 2004Thunderstorm WindGeraldine-A few trees were blown down by thuderstorm winds.
June 2003Thunderstorm WindGeraldine-few large trees down across county road 52.
June 2003HailGeraldine-penny size hail reported.

Every storm recorded in DeKalb County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Skirum2.6 miles21
Oak Hill2.9 miles22
Hopewell2.9 miles22
Lakeview3.0 miles21
Ophir3.0 miles21
Chigger Hill3.3 miles22
Gilbert Crossroads3.5 miles21
Fairview4.0 miles21

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on GeraldineAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q67722The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 150249. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.