Powder Springs

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond this area.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Flood insurance figures are for Cobb County, the county that contains Powder Springs.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges in Cobb County, the county that contains Powder Springs.

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

The drought index is for Cobb County, the county that contains Powder Springs.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the city centre.
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 8, 1998Tornado$15.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The same supercell that had tracked from Alabama across Haralson and Paulding counties spawned another tornado in Smyrna. The touchdown was along Windy Hill Road just west of Cobb Parkway where a commercial building sustained heavy damage. A filling station and car dealership less than a block east also sustained heavy damage. There was $500,000 to $750,000 in damage to new cars. Trees over a foot in diameter were snapped or uprooted. In total, 59 buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported. Aerial and ground surveys by NWS employees showed the path varied from 100 to 200 yards wide with a length of about 3 miles. The tornado crossed just into Fulton county near I-285…

2. Sep 21, 2009Flood$12.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Cobb county emergency management personnel and USGS stream gages confirmed that record to catastrophic flooding continued across much of the county. Hundreds of homes, apartments, businesses, and roads sustained damages from flooding. Many culverts and/or bridges were washed out and several roads were closed. Some of the worst flooding during this event occurred in the Cobb and Douglas county area. Flood waters began to recede after 830 am EDT on the 22nd, but many locations remained in major to record flood through 715 am EDT on the 23rd. Monetary damage from flooding continued to mount, with damage during this time frame exceeding $12.5 million.

3. Sep 21, 2009Flood$11.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Record, and in some cases catastrophic, flooding continued to expand across the northern and western portions of the Atlanta metropolitan area as renewed rounds of showers and thunderstorms with very heavy rain tracked repeatedly over the same areas throughout the day. Portions of hundreds of roads in the county were closed from flooding and washed out bridges and/or culverts. Hundreds of homes, apartments, and businesses sustained significant flood damage. Record flooding was occurring on the Chattahoochee River at Vinings and on Sope Creek near Marietta. Monetary damage during this time frame across Cobb county was estimated to be at least $10,000,000. Total damages for Cobb…

4. Jul 11, 2005Flash Flood$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extensive flooding was reported across much of Cobb county and was on par with the flood damage reported in Douglas County. Rainfall across the county averaged 8-10 inches, but some areas received as much as a foot or more of rain from late afternoon on July 10th through the early morning hours of the 11th. Flood levels reached 100-year levels in many areas of the county. One resident even reported that the water reached a 500-year flood level according to flood certification papers they had received. Some parts of the county were under as much as six feet of water. Dozens of homes were flooded with water up to a foot deep in some homes, damaging homes and ruining personal…

5. Apr 8, 2006Tornado$6.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, GA concluded that a second and stronger F1 tornado affected far northern Cobb county and continued eastward into North Fulton county. The tornado touched down in the Noonday community or about seven miles north of Marietta just south of the intersection fo Canton Road/Georgia Highway 5 and Jamerson Road and traveled east a more or less continuous 18-mile long path into North Fulton county. Substantial damage was reported to homes and trees at the tornado's initial touchdown point in the Jamerson subdivision. At least 60 homes in the Jamerson subdivision sustained damage, 10 with major damage and 50 with minor…

6. Sep 21, 2009Flood$5.7 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Although flash flooding began to subside, extensive flooding was reported across the county and confirmed from several USGS stream gages. Flooding expanded on areas earlier dexperiencing flash flooding. Record flooding was observed along Sweetwater Creek near Powder Springs, Powder Springs Creek, Noses Creek, and numerous other small creeks and tributaries. At least 100 roads across the county were closed, including portions of Interstate 20 and Interstate 285 near Six Flags. Extensive rescue operations were conducted in many areas of the county as motorists found their vehicle submerged in flood waters. At least a dozen people were evacuated in Powder Springs because of rising…

7. Feb 21, 2005Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of large hail were received from the public in Acworth, Kennesaw, and Marietta. Golf ball to tennis ball-sized hail was reported in Acworth, golf ball-sized hail in Kennesaw, and nickel to quarter-sized hail in Marietta. Damage was reported to vehicles and residences.

8. Apr 19, 2006Hail$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous reports of hail ranging in size from pennies to golf balls were reported across Cobb county from the northwest corner near Acworth to Smyrna in the southeast part. The storm was strongest when it entered the northwest part of the county, then gradually weakened as it moved southeast across the county. Nickel to golf ball-size hail was reported in the Kennesaw area, while only penny-sized hail was reported in the Smyrna area. Car windshields were cracked in the Kennesaw area where golf ball-size hail fell.

9. Feb 26, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia and The Weather Channel concluded that a microburst with wind speeds up to 90 mph impacted the northeast part of Cobb county, causing extensive damage to trees, homes, and power lines. Several roads were also blocked. The majority of the damage was concentrated within a 0.3 to 1.0 mile wide path that extended from the Canterbury Woods Country Club north of Marietta eastward to the Fulton county line east of Sandy Plains. The damage continued into north Fulton county near Roswell. Extensive damage to trees and homes was observed in the neighborhoods around the Shallowford Road area.…

10. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Cobb$5.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Rainfall with hurricane Ivan reached 10-12 inches in parts of north Georgia, including the Atlanta metropolitan area. Most of this rain fell within a period of 24 hours or less. Record flooding was reported on many creeks and rivers in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. Peachtree Creek, Nancy Creek, and the Chattahoochee River all reached or exceeded record flood stages. Catastrophic flooding resulted. Some of the stages observed during the event include:Peachtree Creek: Crested at 22.2 feet, over 5 feet above the flood stage of 17.0 feet. The previous record high crest was 21.1 feet on March 17, 1990, considered a 100-year flood event. An estimated high water mark of 25.8 feet was…

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

104°F5 times, most recently Jul 2, 2012

All-time low

−12°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

77°F2 times, most recently Aug 17, 2007

Coldest day

8°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

8.43 inSep 22, 2009

Snowiest day

15.0 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2016mean 63.9°F

Coldest year

1968mean 57.7°F

Wettest year

200983.36 in

Driest year

195425.52 in

Snowiest season

18.0 in1986-87

Station Dallas 7 Ne (USC00092485), 1,028 ft elevation, 10.1 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1957 to October 28, 2026; 97.4% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

Declarations for Cobb County.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USC00092485.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.