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Guin, Alabama

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Guin census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35563. It stands on Little Creek. The Survey maps it on the Guin quadrangle. 2,195 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 449 feet above sea level.

Guin within Marion County

Population over time

2 figures

Guin fell from 2,376 to 2,195 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
20102,376
20202,195-181 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 9 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

72 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 72 fires within 5 miles of Guin between 1994 and 2018, burning about 697 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 22 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
Arson/incendiarism22
Debris and open burning18
Missing data/not specified/undetermined17
Equipment and vehicle use5
Recreation and ceremony3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Smoking1

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
24 September 2010Arson/incendiarism30 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
21 September 1997Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
2 September 1998Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
15 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20160915-6
14 September 1998Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
11 September 2000Debris and open burning4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
30 August 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
26 August 2018Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20180826-1

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Marion County

Storms near this place

35 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Guin in 35 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 18 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 4 tornado, 2 flash flood. 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 2011Tornado (EF3)Guin$5,500,000A tornado initially touched down in southwest Marion County, near the community of Pikeville and tracked northeast. The tornado moved across southern portions of Haleyville and into Winston County, south of AL Route 129. The tornado lifted in the William B. Bankhead National Forest, north of Rabbittown. The tornado touched down along US Hwy 43, south of CR 2 where it downed hundreds of trees. The tornado moved northeast and crossed Corridor X/Future Interstate 22 east of CR 37. Here it caused tree damage consistent with an EF1 tornado and winds of 105 mph. The tornado strengthened north of Pea Ridge to an EF3 rating with winds of 150 mph. Along CR 45, west of AL Route 253, at least two mobile homes were completely destroyed and six well built homes sustained major damage or were completely destroyed. As the tornado approached US Hwy 278 near Whitehouse, several outbuildings were destroyed and a well built home was destroyed with the foundation swept clean. Several injuries were noted in this area. The tornado continued northeastward and caused mostly tree damage as it neared the Winston County line.
February 2008Tornado (EF0)Guin$20,000The tornado that touched down in Lamar County moved into southern Marion County, near CR-16 northwest of Guin. It continued to move northeastward for about another mile and a half, and lifted just before it reached US-43 north of Guin. In Marion County, the tornado blew down several trees, at least one of which landed on and destroyed a barn.
June 1996Thunderstorm WindGuin$10,000no account filed
May 1997Thunderstorm WindGuin$5,000Trees were down near Guin in the southwest part of the county, in the southern part of the county, reported by the EMA.
May 1997Thunderstorm WindGuin$5,000Trees were down in Guin, in the southwest part of the county.
June 1996HailGuin$5,000no account filed
October 1996HailGuin$5,000no account filed
July 2004Thunderstorm WindGuin$4,000Trees were knocked down along US 43 in Guin.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindGuin$2,000Trees and power lines were blown down around the city of Guin.
November 2003Thunderstorm WindGuin$2,000Trees and power lines were blown down between SR 107 and CR 69 just outside Guin. EMA
June 2001Thunderstorm WindGuin$2,000A few trees were blown down in Guin.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindGuin$1,000Numerous tree limbs were blown down in Guin.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindGuin-Trees were downed in several locations around Guin.
March 2025HailGuin-Quarter to half dollar-size hail fell in Guin.
December 2024Thunderstorm WindGuin-Multiple power lines and power poles were downed around County Highway 58 in Guin.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindGuin-Significant damage occurred to structures and at the Blue Moon Drive-In Theater in Gu-Win.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindGuin-Multiple trees uprooted in Guin.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindGuin-Several trees uprooted in Guin.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindGuin-A few trees uprooted in the town of Guin.
March 2021Flash FloodGuin-Several roads under water in the city of Guin with portions of 15th Street washed away.
March 2021Thunderstorm WindGuin-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the town of Guin.
December 2021Tornado (EF1)Guin-National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southwest Marion County and determined that it was consistent with an EF1 tornado, with maximum winds near 110 mph. The tornado crossed into Marion County from Lamar County near Reese Road and produced mostly uprooted softwood trees as it tracked eastward near the Marion/Fayette County line. The tornado began a slight shift to the northwest and rapidly intensified as it approached the city of Winfield. The tornado produced EF1 damage in the downtown sections of Winfield. Several businesses sustained roof and structural damage with windows being blown out of others. A strip mall lost a large section of its roof structure. The tornado narrowed fairly rapidly as it exited downtown and began to weaken as it moved through more residential areas east of downtown. Damage east of downtown consisted of mostly uprooted softwood trees, but a few homes sustained minor roof damage near the intersection of Bankhead Highway and Dove Street.
August 2019Thunderstorm WindGuin-Several trees uprooted in the town of Guin.
April 2018Thunderstorm WindGuin-Several trees uprooted on County Road 27 south of Highway 43.
November 2016Tornado (EF1)Guin-National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage in southern Marion County and determined that the damage was consistent with an EF-1 tornado, with maximum winds estimated near 90 mph.||The same storm that produced the Lamar County Airport Tornado continued to move northeast, and eventually caused a tornado in Marion County. This tornado touched down about a mile south of the city of Guin on County Road 69. From there, the tornado quickly widened as it moved to the northeast. As the tornado crossed US Highway 43, it caused significant damage to the roof of a restaurant, and snapped and uprooted several large trees. The tornado then crossed County Roads 27 and 164, and Alabama Highway 253, causing damage to numerous trees and several outbuildings. As the tornado approached and crossed Interstate 22, the damage path narrowed and the damage was barely discernible. The damage path slowly widened again as passed to the northwest of the Brilliant Community, damaging many more trees. A wooden barn structure was significantly damaged on County Road 36 northwest of Brilliant. From there, the path continued northeast over mostly rural farmland, producing more tree damage on Alabama Highway 129, County Roads 46, 171, and 70, and Alabama Highway 233. From there, the tornado began to narrow once again, and it finally lifted near Crooked Creek Road, just south of US Highway 278.
May 2012Flash FloodGuin-Heavy rainfall caused extensive flooding in downtown Guin. Numerous roads were under water and closed. Water across U.S. Highway 43 was 3 feet deep. In addition, water flowed into several homes and businesses.
April 2012Thunderstorm WindGuin-Trees and powerlines where reported down on a house on 3rd Avenue in Guin.
March 1998HailGuin-Penny size hail was reported in Guin.
April 1995HailGuin-Dime-size hail was reported by the Guin Police Department.
April 1994HailGuin-Golf ball-size hail was reported in Guin.
June 2009HailGuin-no account filed
April 2007HailGuin-no account filed
April 2006HailGuin-no account filed
April 2006HailGuin-no account filed
May 2006HailGuin-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Marion 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
Gu-Win1.8 miles9
Stinson3.8 miles10
Yampertown4.1 miles11
Twin4.1 miles11
New Hope5.2 miles11
Pikeville5.4 miles10
Winfield5.8 miles11
Pea Ridge7.2 miles11

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 GuinAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79684The 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 154458. 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.