Butts County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. Jun 22, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$550,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Butts County Emergency Management Director reported that an apparent thunderstorm downburst or microburst caused extensive damage to trees, power lines, and property in the northeastern part of the county from the Henry county line, just northwest of Fincherville to the south side of Lake Jackson along the Butts/Jasper county line. At least 40 trees were down along this path. Some of the most significant damage occurred near the intersection of Georgia Highway 36 and Barnetts Bridge Road, where a number of trees and power lines were down and one home in the area suffered major damage. A total of six homes sustained damage, two of which were severely damaged and four others…

2. Nov 11, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Butts county Emergency Management Director and the local newspaper, the Jackson Progress Argus, reported that extensive damage occurred to five homes and two apartment buildings. Two of the structures had the roofs removed. However, most of the damage was the result of downed trees. on the structures. Numerous trees and several power lines were also blown down. One tree fell on the city's new dump truck causing damage. The Jackson Progress Argus newspaper reported that the city of Jenkinsburg not only suffered substantial property loses, but also lost some of its most prized hardwood trees that had graced the city streets for over 100 years. These trees were uprooted and blown…

3. Nov 30, 2010Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that a second, weaker EF0 tornado touched down within the same quasi-linear convective system that spawned the EF2 tornado in Gwinnett county. This tornado originated in extreme western Butts county approximately four miles southwest of Jenkinsburg, crossed very briefly into extreme eastern Henry county, before crossing back into extreme western Butts county and then lifting immediately thereafter. The tornado had a total path length of 2.5 miles, mostly in Butts county. The maximum path width was determined to be 50 yards with maximum wind gusts estimated at 80 mph.…

4. Sep 7, 2004High Wind, Butts$250,000
   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. Feb 18, 2009Hail$240,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Butts County Emergency Management Director reported nickel to golf ball-sized hail across northern and northeastern Butts county. Nickel-sized hail was observed near Worthville and golf ball-sized hail further southeast toward the Jasper county line. Half-dollar-sized hail was observed near Lake Jackson.

6. Mar 15, 2008Hail$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Butts County Sheriff's observed golf ball-sized hail in western Jackson county near Interstate-75. The public observed half-dollar-sized hail in southeast Butts county near Flovilla. Radar supported half this large or larger tracked across much of western and southern Butts county.

7. Apr 4, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Butts County Emergency Management Director reported that over 100 trees were down across the entire county. One large tree fell on a home on Seventh Street in Jackson killing a 34-year old man along with his 4-year old son. In addition to the widespread tree damage, the side of an outbuilding near Stark suffered significant damage when one side was blown away.

8. Aug 20, 2010Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Jackson Progress Argus reported that lightning struck a home on First Street near downtown Jackson. The structure sustained major fire and smoke damage as a result of the lightning strike.

9. May 2, 2003Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Butts county 911 center reported that lightning struck a home. The home was set on fire and completely destroyed.

10. Mar 15, 2008Tornado$150,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An aerial survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, GA in cooperation with the Georgia State Patrol confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched down in southwest Butts county and made a three mile track across southern Butts county. The tornado touched down near the intersection of Joe Land Road and Kinards Mill Road and lifted near the intersection of Brooks Road and Nathan Thaxton Road. The path length was between three and four miles long. The Emergency Management Director reported that 136 homes suffered minor damage. In addition, one barn was destroyed and many trees were blown down along the path of the tornado. The combination of the high…

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

109°FJul 12, 1930

All-time low

−7°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FJul 7, 1990

Coldest day

16°FDec 26, 1983

Wettest day

8.20 inMar 5, 2025

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1990mean 66.8°F

Coldest year

2010mean 59.9°F

Wettest year

202494.29 in

Driest year

195426.45 in

Station Monticello (USC00095988), 518 ft elevation, 16.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to June 30, 2026; 85.0% 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.

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 USC00095988.
• 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.