Brooks County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Brooks County: 2.
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.

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 26, 2024Hurricane (Typhoon), Brooks$10.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Power lines and trees were blown down county wide and blocked 60-70% of the roads. Most of the county lost power.

2. Aug 30, 2023Hurricane (Typhoon), Brooks$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Approximately 863 residents, or 92% lost power. At least 41 properties were reported damaged. At least 120 trees and power lines came down.

3. Sep 10, 2017Tropical Storm, Brooks$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Irma brought numerous impacts to the Florida Big Bend, southwest Georgia and southeast Alabama including widespread downed trees and power lines, roads blocked by trees, power outages, and trees on homes. Two people died during the event - one due to a car crash (Liberty County, FL) and another that had a heart attack (Worth County, GA). Two indirect deaths occurred due to carbon monoxide from a generator (Taylor County, FL). While many counties across the Florida Big Bend and southwest Georgia were impacted, the greatest impacts were across the eastern portion of the area near the I-75 corridor. There were over 6.5 million customers without power in Florida, over…

4. Jan 22, 2017Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This was the second tornado to touch down from the same parent tornado that impacted Thomas and northwest Brooks Counties. The tornado touched down at EF-1 strength in northern Brooks County near Georgia Route 122 just west of the Moultrie Highway, snapping trees along the highway. Near the intersection of Georgia Route 133, or the Valdosta Highway, the tornado strengthened to EF-3 blowing out two of the four concrete walls of a small business building. Max winds were estimated near 140 mph. A short distance later, the tornado flipped a strapped-down double wide mobile home and tossed it about 100 feet into a drainage ditch and across Route 122. Two people inside the home were…

5. Oct 10, 2018Tropical Storm, Brooks$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Michael started as typical weak October Caribbean tropical system. However, after approximately a week of slow development, the system moved into warm Gulf of Mexico waters and rapidly intensified into a major hurricane as it moved north towards the Florida Panhandle. After a 2-day long intensification period over the eastern Gulf, Michael made landfall as an unprecedented (for the region) high-end category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale in the Florida Panhandle with maximum sustained wind speed of 155 mph and a minimum pressure 919 mb. Based on wind, Michael is the fourth most powerful hurricane to hit the United States, behind the Labor Day…

6. Jun 11, 2001Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 10 inches of rain Monday night and early Tuesday morning. More than 50 county and secondary roads were impassable, with some washouts. U.S. Highway 84 was temporarily closed. A state of emergency was declared in Brooks County. Reported by the Brooks County EMA.

7. Sep 6, 2000Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Excessive runoff from heavy rains during the past 24 hours contributed to localized flooding with several county roads closed to high water. Railroad tracks were washed out. Ponds, creeks and streams were rising into residential areas. A spotter in Barney, GA reported nearly 8.5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. Reported by the Brooks County Sheriff.

8. Mar 8, 1998Flood, Brooks$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense Gulf storm produced 5 to 12 inches of rain across much of southwest Georgia on March 7-9 which caused widespread flooding. Baker, Ben Hill, Cook, Colquitt, Dougherty, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Terrell, Decatur, Early, Brooks, Colquitt, Clay, Seminole, Calhoun, Thomas, and Worth counties were declared federal disaster areas. In Ben Hill County, floodwaters claimed the life of a Irwinville man whose vehicle overturned. In Baker County, several homes and businesses were flooded in Newton. 100 residents within the Newton city limits were evacuated. Numerous county and secondary roads were closed. Flooding along the Itchuaway-Nochaway Creek forced additional evacuations at…

9. Jul 9, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Brooks$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Dennis came ashore along the central Gulf coast on July 10. The lowest sea-level pressure and peak wind gust recorded were 1007.5 mb and 42 mph, respectively, at Albany, GA. Heavy rainfall commenced July 10, and persisted into the early morning hours of July 11. A nearly stationary feeder band from the eastern Florida Panhandle into southwest Georgia produced four to eight inches, with isolated amounts up to a foot. In Colquitt County, flash flooding along the Okapilco Creek in Moultrie damaged many homes, washed out roads, and forced the evacuation of 100 homes. Heavy rains in the upper Flint River basin generated high flows which reached as far south as Bainbridge, GA.…

10. Aug 5, 2024Tropical Storm, Brooks$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several trees and power lines were blown down.

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

106°F2 times, most recently Jun 15, 2011

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FAug 4, 2015

Coldest day

24°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.62 inMar 27, 1984

Snowiest day

1.2 inJan 21, 2025

Hottest year

2024mean 71.0°F

Coldest year

1966mean 65.1°F

Wettest year

199167.99 in

Driest year

200731.25 in

Snowiest season

2.2 in2024-25

Station Valdosta Regional Airport (USW00093845), 193 ft elevation, 16.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 98.7% 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 USW00093845.
• 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.