Alabama ranks ninth in the number of deaths from lightning and tenth in the number of deaths from lightning strikes per capita.

The Wetumpka crater is a 5-mile (8 km)-wide meteorite impact crater located in Elmore County, just north of Montgomery. It is considered Alabama’s greatest natural disaster, created by a meteorite impact about 80 million years ago.

Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state on December 14, 1819.

Temperatures tend to be warmer in the southern part of Alabama due to its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, while the northern parts, especially in the Appalachian Mountains in the northeast, tend to be slightly cooler.

Thunderstorms are common in Alabama, especially in the southern part around Mobile Bay, which averages between 70 and 80 days per year with thunder. The far north of the state reports thunder on about 60 days per year.

Alabama’s economy in the 21st century is based on automotive, finance, tourism, manufacturing, aerospace, mineral extraction, healthcare, education, retail, and technology.

Alabama is 23rd in the amount of surface water in the United States.

Industrial development related to World War II brought prosperity to Alabama. Rural workers moved to cities for better jobs, significantly increasing populations in cities like Mobile.

Alabama was affected by the 1974 Super Outbreak and was devastated tremendously by the 2011 Super Outbreak, which produced a record amount of tornadoes in the state, totaling 62.

The expedition of Hernando de Soto passed through Mabila and other parts of Alabama in 1540.