Banks County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Jan 22, 2000Ice Storm, Banks$980,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wintry precipitation plagued the northern third of Georgia beginning Saturday and continued into Sunday. A shallow cold airmass with single-digit dewpoint temperatures was in place over north Georgia, with temperatures in the upper 20s to lower 30s over much of the area. An upper level disturbance moved rapidly over the area in a fast zonal flow, bringing an increase in mid-tropospheric moisture. At the same time, lower level moisture spread into the area from the Gulf of Mexico. Precipitation began falling into the colder layer of air near the surface by mid-morning on the 22nd. The mixture of light rain, snow and sleet had spread from northwest to northeast Georgia by early…

2. Apr 8, 2006Tornado$350,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the Banks County Emergency Management Director and the National Weather Service concluded that a brief F0 tornado touched down just north of Interstate-85 at 363 Dodd Road (which parallels the interstate) completely destroying one chicken house and removing another from its foundation. Large pieces of metal from the chicken house were wrapped around an adjacent silo.

3. Dec 13, 2002High Wind, Banks$260,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sustained winds at estimated speeds of 40 to 45 mph with gusts of 50 to 55 mph developed along the back edge of a northeastward moving area of rain as it intersected a cold air wedge or back door cold front that was in place across northeast Georgia. The high winds combined with the wet saturated soil from recent and ongoing rains, blew down hundreds of trees and power lines in several northeast Georgia counties. Some of the trees fell on homes and vehicles causing additional damage. Several roads were blocked as well. Banks, Barrow, and Hall counties seemed to receive the worst of the wind. In Banks county, 53 roads were blocked by downed trees and power or phone lines, of which…

4. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Banks$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High wind damage, associated with Tropical Storm Ivan, is listed below, in alphabetical order by county for those counties that "high wind" criteria was either met or assumed to be met.Banks: The Banks County News of Homer reported widespread damage to trees and power lines throughout the county. More than 73 trees were uprooted or blown down, and many roads were blocked by downed trees and power lines. One home and an unoccupied camper were damaged when trees fell on them and a power line fell on a vehicle while traveling on a county highway. (Estimated Damage: $250,000)Barrow: The Barrow County News and the Gwinnett Daily Post both reported widespread damage to trees and power…

5. Apr 5, 2017Hail$241,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A CoCoRaHS observer reported golf ball size hail.

6. May 25, 2014Hail$238,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Banks County 911 Center reported golf ball sized hail west of Mount Pleasant.

7. May 25, 2014Hail$238,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported golf ball sized hail along Yona Homer Road.

8. Aug 8, 2005Flash Flood$175,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Banks County Emergency Management Director reported flash flooding along Grove Creek and Hickory Creek at Georgia Highway 98. Two homes were flooded and the residents had to be relocated. Hembree and Hickory Creek Roads were flooded and closed. Rainfall of four to five inches fell across the southern portions of Banks county between Maysville and Homer during the late morning and early afternoon hours.

9. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Banks$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Banks County Emergency Manager reported hundreds of trees and power lines blown down across the county. Over 35,000 cubic yards of debris was cleared from county roads and right of ways. A wind gust of 51 mph was measured in the Banks Crossing area. Radar estimated between 2 and 3 inches of rain fell across the county with 2.25 inches measured near Banks Crossing. No injuries were reported.

10. Jun 12, 2007Hail$140,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Banks County Emergency Management Director reported golf ball-sized hail in the east and southeast part of the county.

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°FJul 12, 1930

All-time low

−10°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

84°FJun 29, 1945

Coldest day

9°FDec 24, 1989

Wettest day

10.50 inSep 30, 1936

Snowiest day

11.2 inJan 23, 1940

Hottest year

1927mean 61.7°F

Coldest year

1976mean 54.9°F

Wettest year

201385.75 in

Driest year

201633.27 in

Station Cornelia (USC00092283), 1,470 ft elevation, 11.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1919 to October 23, 2026; 99.6% 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 USC00092283.
• 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.