Sumter County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Sumter County: 0.
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.

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

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.

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.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

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 county boundary (or inside the county).
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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$6.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Neshoba County Mississippi. It tracked northeastward through Kemper County Mississippi before it crossed the Mississippi, Alabama state line approximately 1.5 miles north of Sumter County Road 30. As it entered Alabama, the tornado was an EF-3 with winds estimated between 140-150 mph. In Sumter County, numerous homes and businesses in the town of Geiger sustained extensive damage. As the tornado continued to move east, thousands of trees were either snapped or uprooted. The tornado lifted near the Tombigbee River at the Sumter, Greene County line.

2. Aug 29, 2005Tropical Storm, Sumter$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down across Sumter County during Katrina. Power outages were widespread and lasted up to a week. Numerous structures, homes and vehicles were damaged.

3. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$3.9 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Sumter County, near US Highway 80, where several trees were snapped. The tornado strengthened to an EF-2 rating, with maximum wind speeds of 115 mph and continued to move northeast as it crossed Alabama Highway 17, where two homes sustained significant damage, and two outbuildings were completely destroyed. The tornado lifted near County Road 17, about 7 miles south of Livingston.

4. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Sumter$3.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees and power lines were blown down with the most significant damage in the southern part of the county. At least 5500 customers were without power for up to two weeks. Several hundred homes and structures received varying degrees of wind damage. Maximum wind gusts were estimated around 85 miles an hour. One man was killed by an allergic reaction to bee stings. He was unable to phone emergency personnel because the power was out.

5. Apr 15, 2011Tornado$2.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Sumter County along Dan Mitchell Road, south of State Route 116, six miles west southwest of Gainesville. As the tornado moved east, the tornado strengthened to an EF-2 rating, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. Dozens of hardwood trees were either snapped or uprooted and several homes sustained damage. One home sustained major roof damage along the path. The tornado lifted a half a mile west of State Route 39, one mile south of Gainesville.

6. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Kemper County Mississippi (See Storm Data Jackson), near Scooba, and tracked northeast into Sumter County, Alabama at a point just north of Henley Rd, northwest of Geiger. The tornado continued as an EF2 rating as it entered Alabama, with winds of 130 mph. It knocked down trees along Mt Tabor Rd and AL Hwy 17. The tornado caused extensive tree damage along CR 34, near Panola, where it knocked down an entire section of pine forest. The average path width in Sumter County is 0.5 mile (880yds). The tornado continued northeast across north Sumter County and moved into southern Pickens County just west of CR 85.

7. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$268,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Smith County, Mississippi and tracked through Jasper and Clarke Counties (See Storm Data Jackson), causing EF4 rated damage. The tornado then crossed into Choctaw County (See Storm Data Mobile) Alabama, causing EF3 rated damage. The tornado tracked across portions of Sumter, Marengo and western Perry Counties, before dissipating. The tornado crossed into far southeastern Sumter County near CR 42, southeast of Whitfield, as an EF2 with winds of 120 mph. The tornado tracked south of Lock 3 Rd, where it caused significant tree damage. The tornado crossed the Tombigbee River and moved into Marengo County.

8. Jul 10, 2005Tropical Storm, Sumter$210,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees and power lines were knocked down as Dennis moved into Sumter County.

9. Nov 16, 2011Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down in Whitfield and moved to the northeast. Along its path, approximately 150 softwood trees were snapped, 50 hardwood trees were uprooted, and five outbuildings were damaged. Six homes and one double wide mobile home were also damaged. One home along County Road 42 was destroyed causing 1 injury.

10. Apr 24, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A swath of wind damage cut across the southern half of Sumter County, from west of the Ward community, east-northeastward to south of Bellamy. Dozens of trees were snapped and uprooted, many of them blocking roads. One home near CR-10 southeast of Ward received minor roof damage. The driver of a vehicle became trapped by fallen trees near AL-17.

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

105°F5 times, most recently Aug 17, 2007

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

80°FJul 16, 1980

Coldest day

15°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Wettest day

7.55 inApr 13, 1979

Snowiest day

11.0 inJan 1, 1964

Hottest year

1998mean 65.5°F

Coldest year

1976mean 61.4°F

Wettest year

198380.92 in

Driest year

195430.51 in

Station Gainesville Lock (USC00013160), 125 ft elevation, 19.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1957 to October 27, 2026; 91.5% 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.

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.

Neighbouring counties

• 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 USC00013160.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.