Villa Rica

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 Carroll County, the county that contains Villa Rica.

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 Carroll County, the county that contains Villa Rica.

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 Carroll County, the county that contains Villa Rica.

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. Sep 21, 2009Flood$16.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Initial flash flooding evolved into a record and catastrophic flood event during this time frame. Carroll county emergency management personnel reported that at least a dozen other people were rescued from flooded homes and cars around the county, including one woman who escaped to safety as her vehicle was washed as she was driving. Substantial damage to homes, businesses, and roads were observed. Monetary damage during this time period was estimated to be in excess of $16 million.

2. Feb 26, 2008Tornado$8.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A ground and aerial damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia and the Carroll County Emergency Management Director concluded that an EF3 tornado touched down in extreme western Carroll county, just across the Alabama state line, about 13 miles west of Carrollton and continued to a point approximately five miles west of Carrollton. The tornado traveled a path length of seven to eight miles and had a maximum path width of 100 yards. Maximum wind speeds were estimated at 140 mph. Twelve structures, mostly single family homes, suffered extensive damage along the path of the tornado. Only four of the affected structures were…

3. May 11, 2008Tornado$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet a second brief spinup tornado, spawned by the same parent thunderstorm, touched down in Carroll county. This tornado affected eastern Carroll county, touching down near the Diamond Court Subdivision off Cross Plains-Hulett Road, about three miles south of Hulett. Again, this tornado was embedded within a much larger and extensive area of straight-line wind damage that tracked across much of central Carroll county from near Bowden to the Douglas county line, southeast of Hulett. One home was completely destroyed by this second tornado and another received significant…

4. Feb 26, 2008Tornado$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia and the Carrollton County Emergency Management Director confirmed that yet another tornado touched down in eastern Carroll county spawned by the same squall line of thunderstorms that just a few minutes earlier had resulted in an EF3 tornado in western Carroll county. This tornado was rated an EF1, touching down three miles east of Carrollton and tracking to a point five miles east of Carrollton. The path length was two miles long with a maximum path width of 100 yards. Maximum wind speeds with the tornado were estimated at 90 mph. A total of 24 structures sustained minor damage.…

5. Sep 21, 2009Flood$5.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Carroll county emergency management personnel and USGS stream gages confirmed that record to catastrophic flooding continued across much of the county, especially the eastern section. Hundreds of homes, apartments, businesses, and roads sustained damages from flooding. A number of culverts and/or bridges were washed out and several roads were closed. Flood waters began to recede after 830 am EDT on the 22nd, but many areas remained in moderate to major flood until 715 am EDT on the 23rd. Monetary damage from flooding continued to mount, with damages exceeding $5.5 million during this time frame.

6. May 11, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that thunderstorms tracked across central Carroll county from near the Alabama border, west of Bowden, to the Douglas county line, southeast of Hulett, leaving a 25-mile long and 3-mile wide path of extensive straight-line wind damage. Widespread tree and roof damage was noted along the path of straight-line winds, much of which occurred along and up to three miles south of Georgia Highway 166 from west of Carrollton, near Bowden, to western Douglas county, near Fairplay. Dozens upon dozens of trees and many power lines were downed along the path. A number of homes along this path also…

7. Aug 29, 2005Tornado$4.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service Damage Survey Team, in conjunction with the Carroll County Emergency Manager and Chief of Fire and Rescue operations, concluded that the F2 tornado, which began just south of Glenloch in Heard county, continued north into Carroll county. The tornado entered Carroll county approximately three miles southeast of Roopville and continued north at 30-35 mph to a point about three miles northeast of Roopville. The overall path length within Carroll county was 4.0 miles with an approximate path width of 200 yards. Extensive damage occurred along the path of the tornado. A total of 17 large chicken houses were destroyed along with 1,000,000 chickens. This…

8. May 11, 2008Tornado$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that two brief spinup tornadoes occurred within a larger and extensive area of straight-line wind damage across much of central Carroll county. The first brief tornado spinup was an EF2 in the Jonesville community, just northeast of Bowdon and west of Carrollton. The tornado touched down approximately two miles east of where the straight-line wind damage began. The tornado was only on the ground approximately 100 yards and had a path width of 100 yards as well. The roofs of two homes were completely blown off the structures, including nearly $1 million in damages to a Dalton…

9. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Times Georgian newspaper of Carrollton reported that 40 roads around the county had been washed out by flooding, although on five of these the damage was only minor. Several bridges that cross the Little Tallapoosa River in the Tyus area were washed out. The Carroll county 911 center and the county Emergency Management Director corroborated the flooding reports.

10. Mar 15, 2008Hail$1.5 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    An amateur radio operator in Villa Rica observed tennis ball to baseball-sized hail. Several other reports of golf ball-sized hail were received from the public across far northern Carroll county, especially in the Villa Rica area.

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

103°F4 times, most recently Jul 2, 2012

All-time low

−9°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°F2 times, most recently Jul 3, 1997

Coldest day

16°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.66 inSep 21, 2009

Snowiest day

8.5 inMar 2, 1942

Hottest year

1997mean 63.5°F

Coldest year

1968mean 59.0°F

Wettest year

201873.42 in

Driest year

195425.65 in

Snowiest season

9.0 in2017-18

Station Carrollton (USC00091640), 995 ft elevation, 13.1 miles from the city centre. Daily records from 1904 to October 28, 2026; 98.0% 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 Carroll 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 USC00091640.
• 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.