Chatham County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

High tide flooding

1. High tide flooding days are days on which a NOAA tide gauge recorded water at or above NOAA's minor flood threshold, set from the gauge's tide range, counted by meteorological year (May to April). These are the counts in NOAA's annual high tide flooding reports; they are not National Weather Service flood stages. Years with less than 80 percent of data are left out.

NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, through April 2026, 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 29, 1999Flash Flood$7.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Slow moving showers and thunderstorms developed repeatedly across Chatham County and Effingham County during the day. Twenty-four hour rainfall amounts ranged from about 7 inches to over 13 inches. As a result of the flooding, over 500 homes and businesses were damaged to varying degrees and almost 600 automobiles were damaged. Water was as much as 6 ft deep in some places. Numerous roads were washed out and/or closed during the flooding. Estimated dollar damage for public property was 4.5 million dollars and at least another 2.5 million dollars for private property.

2. Sep 11, 2017Storm Surge/Tide, Coastal Chatham$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Storm surge associated with Tropical Storm Irma had widespread significant impacts in Chatham County. According to Chatham County Emergency Management, 7 homes were destroyed, 369 sustained major damage, and 445 sustained minor damage. The Savannah River did breach onto River Street, but water remained out of businesses. Storm surge damage was most extensive on Tybee Island, specifically on Lewis Avenue and the southwestern portion of the island. Homes on Pelican Drive were also damaged by surge. Some storm surge related damage occurred to homes on Dutch Island and Burnside Island. Highway 80 between Savannah and Tybee Island was closed due to saltwater covering and inundating the…

3. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Inland Chatham$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Chatham County Emergency Management reported numerous trees down across the county due to strong winds associated with Hurricane Irma. The ASOS site at the Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport measured peak sustained winds of 44 mph and a peak wind gust of 60 mph. The AWOS site at Hunter Army Airfield measured peak sustained winds of 38 mph and a peak wind gust of 59 mph.

4. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Coastal Chatham$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Chatham County Emergency Management reported numerous trees down across the county due to strong winds associated with Hurricane Irma. The NOS tide gauge at Fort Pulaski measured peak sustained winds of 48 mph and a peak wind gust of 70 mph. The Weatherflow site at the north end of Tybee Island measured peak sustained winds of 49 mph and a peak wind gust of 64 mph. The Weatherflow site at the south end of Tybee Island measured peak sustained winds of 49 mph and a peak wind gust of 63 mph.

5. Sep 11, 2017Storm Surge/Tide, Inland Chatham$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   USGS high water mark analysis showed between 1.51-6.1 feet of inundation above ground level across inland portions of Chatham County. The peak inundation value of 6.1 feet above ground level was measured at a culvert on Chatham Parkway.

6. Jun 19, 2008Tornado$3.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The National Weather Service Office in Charleston, South Carolina completed a damage survey in Chatham county Georgia and determined that an EF-1 Tornado occurred. The Tornado developed around 3:37 pm just north of the intersection of Montgomery Cross Road and the Harry Truman Parkway and traveled south-southwest just west of the Harry Truman Parkway for aproximately 3/4 of a mile before lifting. The maximum width of the Tornado was about 100 yards, and maximum sustained winds were estimated at 90 to 100 mph. This Tornado damaged a fire station and uprooted and snapped off numerous trees. ||The vast majority of the damage was caused by at least 5 strong downbursts. In general,…

7. Aug 24, 2019Lightning$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The media and emergency management indicated a fire was initiated by lightning at an apartment complex located along the 5000 Block of Garrard Avenue. The roof and 3rd floor of the 1300 apartment building was primarily involved in the fire, but the entire building was considered a complete loss. Three firefighters had indirect injuries associated with the fire, one from a roof collapse, one from second degree burns and another from third degree burns. All are expected to make a full recovery. Thirty residents were also left without a home.

8. Jun 22, 2004Lightning$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a 7400 square foot home which sparked a fire causing millions of dollars in damage. The storm also knocked out power to 18,000 residents.

9. Sep 3, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and powerlines down. The Mar Lin Marina suffered extensive damage and encountered 6 to 8 foot swells with the onshore component of the winds. Boats were capsized, and the docks were destroyed. At least 30 boats were damaged to varying degrees- six were completely destroyed, four capsized and five ended up in the marshes.

10. Jul 5, 1996Flash Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Eight to ten (8-10) inches of rain fell in 3-4 hours in and around Savannah. As a result, 50 streets and 100 homes were flooded to various degrees. Numerous businesses had water several inches deep.There were 31,000 residents without power for several hours. This event also occurred close to high tide. Some streets had water up to headlights on cars while some homes had water almost knee deep.Several car dealerships had significant damage to some cars. Two elderly men barely escaped with their lives when their car stalled.By the time they were rescued, water was within six (6) inches of filling the inside of the car.

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°FJul 20, 1986

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

83°FJul 24, 1983

Coldest day

22°FDec 23, 1989

Wettest day

8.94 inOct 7, 2016

Snowiest day

3.6 inFeb 8, 1968

Hottest year

2020mean 70.4°F

Coldest year

1969mean 64.4°F

Wettest year

196473.17 in

Driest year

200131.64 in

Snowiest season

3.6 in1967-68

Station Savannah International Airport (USW00003822), 29 ft elevation, 7.2 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% 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 USW00003822.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Tide gauges NOAA CO-OPS high tide flooding counts, 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.