BlockBefore

Rainbow City, Alabama

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Gadsden census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35906. It stands on Horton Creek. The Survey maps it on the Dunaway Mountain quadrangle. 10,191 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 568 feet above sea level.

Rainbow City within Etowah County

Population over time

2 figures

Rainbow City grew from 9,602 to 10,191 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
20109,602
202010,191+589 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

64 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 64 fires within 5 miles of Rainbow City between 1994 and 2018, burning about 508 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 26 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/incendiarism26
Debris and open burning25
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Recreation and ceremony5
Natural1

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
8 September 1995Debris and open burning6.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
5 September 1995Debris and open burning3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 September 1995Debris and open burning7.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 1997Recreation and ceremony25 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 2005Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
4 August 2010Arson/incendiarism1.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
11 August 2007Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
28 July 2006Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Etowah County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of Rainbow City: 6 past producers, 6 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Iron, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Barium-Barite, Kaolin, Aluminum. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Dunaway Mtn. Dolomite QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Republic Steel Corp. PlantSulfurPast Producer
Southside PitClayPast Producer
Anniston, Fort Payne, Ashville, Ala.Kaolin, AluminumOccurrenceBauxite, Kaolin
Ne Alabama Bauxite-KaolinKaolin, AluminumOccurrenceBauxite
Giles Myric & A. CampbellBarium-BaritePast ProducerResidual
John T Hagen ProspectBarium-BariteOccurrence
Mrs. Alice Campbell ProspectBarium-BaritePast Producer
Unnamed QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerQuartz
Unnamed QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerQuartz

Every working recorded in Etowah County

Storms near this place

31 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rainbow City in 31 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 17 thunderstorm wind, 11 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. 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
July 2005Flash FloodRainbow City1 hurt, $73,000A partial roof collapse occurred at the Paradise Bowling Alley in Rainbow City. The weight of the heavy rain produced the failure. One person was injured in the bowling alley. Several roads in downtown Gadsden were impassable due to high water. Flood water entered numerous homes in the same area. Two motorists were rescued by the local fire department in stalled out vehicles.
April 2000Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$50,000Several trees were blown down in Rainbow City. Two adjoining businesses, John's Mens Wear and Learning Systems had the roof completely removed in one piece. Several other locations in the county also reported trees blown down.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$40,000Several trees were blown down on Lakefront Drive, the Southside community near Gadsden. At least 4 homes and several vehicles were damaged by falling trees.
September 2011Tornado (EF0)Rainbow City$30,000An EF0 tornado, associated with Tropical Storm Lee, with estimated peak winds of 80 MPH touched down in Rainbow City. After touching down near Hill St, the tornado took a turn to the northwest, crossing U.S. Highway 411 west of Bland St. The tornado turn back to the north and lifted near Irene St., west of Alabama Highway 77. Ten to 15 pine trees were snapped and a few hardwood trees were uprooted. Several HVAC units were blown off the roof of Rainbow City Hall on U.S. Highway 411 and minor structural damage occurred at the Spring Lake Lodge Apartments.
August 2009LightningRainbow City$20,000Lightning struck and damaged an apartment building in the Rainbow City area, near Gadsden, which caused heavy smoke outside the building. Two units of the building had to be evacuated, as firefighters searched for the source of the smoke. The time of the event is estimated.
March 2006Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$20,000Winds damaged a few boats and boat houses on the Coosa River at Hortons Bend.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$8,000Several trees were knocked down in and around the town of Southside. Two of the trees fell on houses.
March 2009Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$5,000Several trees were blown down in the area around Garmon Road, Whorton Bend Road, and River Cliff Drive.
April 1997HailRainbow City$3,000Three-quarter inch hail was reported in Rainbow City, in the southern part of the county.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$2,000Numerous trees were blown down on Whorton Bend Road.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$1,000Several trees and power lines were blown down.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$1,000Several trees were blown down in Rainbow City.
December 2008Thunderstorm WindRainbow City$1,000Several trees were blown down on Oakland Drive, near Whorton Bend, south of Gadsden.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-A couple trees were downed in Southside.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-Trees were downed at Sutton Bridge Road and Brown Avenue and at Bachelors Chapel Rd and Smith Rd.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-Multiple trees were downed in the Southside area, including along Lister Ferry Rd, Leota Rd, and Hood Rd, where a motorist was trapped between fallen trees.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Gadsden.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed around Rainbow City.
March 2013Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-A tree was blown down onto a home, entrapping the resident inside.
March 2013Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-Approximately 20 trees were down along Alabama Highway 77.
April 2006HailRainbow City-Hail up to quater size fell for several minutes around Rainbow City.
March 2005HailRainbow City-Quarter or larger size hail was observed near Rainbow City.
March 2003HailRainbow City-Penny size hail was reported near Rainbow City.
May 2003HailRainbow City-Quarter size hail was reported in Rainbow City. Wind gusts associated with this storm were estimated around 50 miles an hour.
July 2002HailRainbow City-Dime size hail was reported in Rainbow City.
May 2001HailRainbow City-Dime size hail was reported in Rainbow City.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindRainbow City-Several trees were reported blown down in Reece City and Rainbow City. A downed tree also interrupted cable television service in Rainbow City.
March 2018HailRainbow City-no account filed
March 2018HailRainbow City-no account filed
March 2015HailRainbow City-no account filed
August 2008HailRainbow City-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Etowah 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
Morgans Crossroads0.2 miles22
Riverside1.4 miles22
Old Harmony1.5 miles22
Clubview Heights2.1 miles22
Southside2.3 miles22
Gum Springs (historical)2.6 miles22
Pilgrims Rest3.0 miles22
South Gadsden3.2 miles22

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 Rainbow CityAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79710The 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 153101. 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.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.