Bleckley County

Every recorded tornado

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

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 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. Dec 16, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bleckley county 911 center reported that a couple of cell phone towers were blown down.

2. Mar 1, 2007Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City concluded that an EF0 tornado touched down in extreme northern Bleckley county about two miles north-northeast of Cary, very near the Twiggs county line, and tracked east-northeast just south of the Twiggs county line to about 0.5 mile west of Brown Hill. The overall path length of the tornado was 1.0 mile with a maximum path width of 1/4 mile. The tornado touched down on Emergency Road 266 where several outbuildings and a number of trees were blown down. Three homes sustained moderate roof damage and a couple of homes had their patio covers destroyed. The back porch of a business along Interstate-16 in…

3. May 10, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bleckley County Emergency Management Director and Macon television stations reported extensive wind damage in the southern part of Bleckley county. Several dozen trees trees and many power lines were down, especially in the vicinity of Mac Thompson Road and Chicken Road. Structural damage was also observed. Some 20 to 25 homes sustained minor damage from downed trees. One mobile home sustained significant damage when a tree fell on the structure. A horse barn near the intersection of Mac Thomsron Road and Chicken Road collapsed during the strong winds. A horse inside was initially rescued from the fallen structure, but later died from injuries.

4. Sep 6, 2004High Wind, Bleckley$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High wind damage, associated with Tropical Storm Frances, is listed below, in alphabetical order by county for those counties that "high wind" criteria was either met or assumed to be met.Baldwin: The Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported that extensive and widespread wind damage was observed. Many trees and power lines were down throughout the county and many parts of the county were expected to be without power for up to four days as a result. In addition, four homes suffered major damage and five suffered minor damage. One man was injured and taken to a local hospital when a tree fell on his mobile home. Four to five inches of rain was also reported throughout the…

5. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Bleckley$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The news media reported many trees and power lines blown down across the county. A large portion of the county was without electricity for some period of time. No injuries were reported.

6. Mar 27, 2005Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Bleckley County Emergency Management Director reported that extensive flooding was occurring in many areas of the county. U.S. Highway 129 was closed east of Cochran because of flooding. Several small dams in the county had been breached. Rainfall of four to six inches was common throughout the county, with local amounts up to eight inches.

7. May 1, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported a 15-mile long path of damage across northeast Bleckley county, beginning near Cary and terminating near Rebie, along which numerous trees were blown down, a 20-foot high empty water tank was blown over, a barn was destroyed, and a house suffered minor damage. While much of the damage was caused by strong straight-line thunderstorm winds, a survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, concluded that a severe microburst or gustnado, moving in a southeastward direction, affected a small area approximately 60 yards wide and 200 yards long beginning approximately two miles northwest of Goldsboro along Georgia Highway 278,.…

8. May 2, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported that a number of trees and power lines were blown down across the county. The old water tower on Dublin Highway in Cochran was blown down and another residence on Duskin Drive in Cochran suffered damage when a tree fell on the house.

9. Jul 28, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported that 3 barns were severely damaged.

10. Jan 21, 2017Tornado$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 95 MPH and a maximum path width of 100yards occurred in eastern Bleckley County northeast of Cochran. The tornado began just west of Churchwell Road where it downed several trees and a fence as well as lifting much of the roof off of a small barn. The tornado continued northeast downing more trees on Butts Road then increased in strength as it snapped 20 to 30 large trees and power poles in a small subdivision on Emergency Road 445A off of Highway 26. The tornado weakened but still damaged an abandoned fire station on Emergency Road 450R at Highway 26 before ending around Cary Salem Road.…

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

110°FSep 5, 1925

All-time low

−3°FFeb 14, 1899

Warmest night

89°FJun 29, 1954

Coldest day

26°FJan 22, 1985

Wettest day

7.85 inJan 19, 1943

Snowiest day

14.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1921mean 68.1°F

Coldest year

1979mean 62.6°F

Wettest year

191269.76 in

Driest year

195423.95 in

Snowiest season

14.0 in1972-73

Station Hawkinsville (USC00094170), 281 ft elevation, 11.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1892 to October 27, 2026; 86.6% 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 USC00094170.
• 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.