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Roanoke, Alabama

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1978. It stands in the Roanoke census division. It lies in ZIP code area 36274. It stands on Graves Creek. The Survey maps it on the Roanoke East quadrangle. 5,311 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 846 feet above sea level.

Roanoke within Randolph County

On record in Roanoke

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Roanoke fell from 6,074 to 5,311 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
20106,074
20205,311-763 (-13%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

144 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 144 fires within 5 miles of Roanoke between 1994 and 2019, burning about 837 acres in total. None 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
Debris and open burning72
Missing data/not specified/undetermined25
Arson/incendiarism22
Equipment and vehicle use10
Recreation and ceremony5
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Smoking1
Other causes1

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
9 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
9 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
7 September 2007Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commission20190924-29
23 September 2018Debris and open burning5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20180923-3
20 September 2010Arson/incendiarism15 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
20 September 2010Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 1999Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Randolph County

Storms near this place

51 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Roanoke in 51 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 27 hail, 19 thunderstorm wind, 5 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
June 2010Flash FloodRoanoke$115,000Significant flooding was reported around the city of Roanoke. Several streets became impassable with a foot or more of water flowing over them, and several homes in the area got up to 3 feet of water in them. The hardest hit area was along AL-22, near Midway Full Gospel Church. At least one unoccupied vehicle was carried about 400 feet down a flood swollen creek, and an additional vehicle in the same area was submerged for a time. One person had to be rescued from her trailer after flood waters surrounded it.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$75,000no account filed
May 2009Flash FloodRoanoke$50,000Several roads in and near the city of Roanoke were closed due to flash flooding. These roads included Chestnut Road, Louina Road, and CR-45 near Rockstand Road. County Road 41, near the Corinth Community, had four feet of water rushing across it.
October 2006Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$50,000A billboard was blown down onto 3 cars in a discount store parking lot. An air conditioner on top of the store was blown over, and a skylight was blown out.
April 2002Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$50,000Damaging thunderstorm winds moved through the city of Roanoke. One large police communications tower was blown down and landed on a police vehicle. Several trees and power lines were knocked down around the city. A large plate glass window was blown out of the local Ford dealers showroom.
June 1999Flash FloodRoanoke$40,000Rainfall up to ten inches in a few hours caused flooding throughout the city of Roanoke. Numerous roads were closed and a few homes had water in them. One family was temporarily trapped in their home before being rescued by the fire department.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$37,000Several trees and power lines were blown down in and around Roanoke.
March 2003HailRoanoke$35,000A large hail storm affected southern Randolph County from near Wadley to Roanoke to near the Georgia State Line. Hail ranging from nickel size to grapefruit size was reported. The grapefruit size hail fell in the Friendship Community and collected up to a foot deep.
May 2009Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$30,000Several trees were blown down and caused power outages. The fallen trees damaged several buildings and vehicles. Several outbuildings and barns also suffered damage.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$20,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down. The windows of a downtown building were blown out, and a plywood wall of a theater were blown out.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$20,000Trees and power lines were down and major damage was done to a barn in Roanoke.
March 1996HailRoanoke$10,000no account filed
March 2003HailRoanoke$7,000Golf ball size hail fell in and around the city of Roanoke.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$5,000Trees and power lines were blown down about 2 miles north of Roanoke. The damage was about 1 mile wide.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$5,000Trees were down in Roanoke and Wadley.
April 1998HailRoanoke$4,000Larger than quarter size hail was reported in Roanoke.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$3,000Trees and power lines were blown down around the city of Roanoke.
May 2001HailRoanoke$3,000Golf ball size hail was reported on CR 87 in the eastern part of Randolph County.
October 1997HailRoanoke$3,000Hail the size of quarters was reported in the northern and southern part of Roanoke.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$2,000Several trees and power lines were blown down in and just east of Roanoke.
May 1995HailRoanoke$2,000Quarter-size hail was reported seven miles northeast of Roanoke at the Springfield community and along Highway 87 in Roanoke.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$2,000no account filed
July 2002Thunderstorm WindRoanoke$2,000no account filed
February 2025Thunderstorm WindRoanoke-Trees were downed in various locations across Randolph County.
May 2023Thunderstorm WindRoanoke-Numerous trees uprooted in Roanoke.
January 2020Thunderstorm WindRoanoke-Several trees uprooted in the town of Roanoke.
March 2020Thunderstorm WindRoanoke-Several trees uprooted and power lines downed in the city of Roanoke.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRoanoke-A large tree was uprooted on the west side of Roanoke on Highway 22.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindRoanoke-Trees were uprooted in several locations across the southern part of Randolph County.
January 2012Flash FloodRoanoke-Heavy rain resulted in street flooding in Roanoke for several hours.
April 2011HailRoanoke-One inch hail was reported in Roanoke, Wadley, and Corinth in Randolph County.
November 2006Flash FloodRoanoke-Satterwhite Street, in Roanoke, was temporarily closed due to flooding from heavy rainfall.
February 2005HailRoanoke-Penny size hail was reported in eastern Randolph County near the Georgia state line.
March 2003HailRoanoke-Penny to quarter size hail was reported in and around Roanoke.
May 2003HailRoanoke-Penny size hail was observed near Roanoke.
November 2002HailRoanoke-Dime size hail fell in Roanoke.
March 2000HailRoanoke-Dime size hail fell in the Broughton Ridge community. In some spots, the hail was completely covering the ground.
July 1999HailRoanoke-Dime to nickel size hail was reported in Roanoke.
July 1998HailRoanoke-Dime size hail was reported at Rock Mills.
May 1995HailRoanoke-Quarter-size hail was reported seven miles northeast of Roanoke at the Springfield community and along Highway 87 in Roanoke.
April 2017HailRoanoke-no account filed
March 2015HailRoanoke-no account filed
April 2011HailRoanoke-no account filed
April 2008HailRoanoke-no account filed
May 2007HailRoanoke-no account filed
April 2006HailRoanoke-no account filed
April 2006HailRoanoke-no account filed
April 2006HailRoanoke-no account filed
April 2002HailRoanoke-no account filed
June 2002HailRoanoke-no account filed
July 2002HailRoanoke-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Randolph 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
Mount Zion2.7 miles11
Center Chapel2.8 miles11
Moores Crossroads3.2 miles11
White Crossroads3.4 miles11
High Pine4.2 miles11
Broughton4.3 miles11
Peavy4.4 miles11
Rock Mills4.5 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 RoanokeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q79278The 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 153164. 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.