Dade County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NASA (2), USGS Conterminous (1).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City confirmed that an EF3 tornado, which originated in DeKalb county, Alabama, continued on an east-northeast track into and across central Dade county, Georgia and further east-northeast into Walker county before lifting just west of Fort Oglethorpe. The tornado path length within Dade county, Georgia was approximately 9.5 miles, while the path length within Georgia was 18 miles long. The tornado was determined, within Georgia, to have a maximum path width of 0.6 mile and maximum winds of 150 mph. The tornado tracked directly across the county seat of Dade county, namely Trenton. Trenton is…

2. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Dade$1.0 million
   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…

3. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City confirmed that an EF1 tornado had touched down approximately two miles south-southwest of Trenton and tracked north-northeastward nearly nine miles, lifting just before reaching the Tennessee border. This was the first of 15 tornadoes to touch down within the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast area during this historical tornado outbreak across the southern and eastern U.S. The maximum tornado path width was determined to be 100 yards wide with maximum wind gusts estimated to be 100 mph. Only very small portions of the tornado path were rated EF1, namely across Trenton and to the northeast…

4. Dec 25, 2015Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dade County Emergency Manager reported a debris flow which blocked Burkhalter Gap Road. A portion of Newsome Gap Road in the same area washed out.

5. Jan 22, 2000Ice Storm, Dade$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…

6. Dec 25, 2015Flash Flood$800,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A USGS stream gauge on the Lookout Creek at Creek Road or around 2 miles southeast New England reached a stage height of 16.7 feet. Significant flooding occurred when several small buildings near a hang gliding recreation park began to flood. Several roads in Dade county were closed including Sells Lane...Mason Road...and Creek Road. The water was several feet deep on portions of these roads.

7. Apr 12, 2020Tornado$700,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 mph and a maximum path width of 350 yards moved into Dade County from DeKalb County Alabama. The tornado crossed the Alabama-Georgia border at EF1 strength downing numerous trees as it moved east-northeast along Michaels Road and Brown Gap Cemetery Road. A home in this area received damage to the roof and to the columns on the front porch. The tornado continued northeast crossing Back Valley Road blowing down several trees on the Trenton Golf Club property. Along Highway 11, additional trees were blown down onto homes before the tornado moved into the city of Trenton. In Trenton, notable…

8. Apr 27, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dade County Emergency Management Director reported that over 50 trees were down in the north central and northwest part of the county, especially along Georgia Highway 299. Numerous trees were also down just southwest of Trenton with extensive damage along North Woods Lane. This was the same neighborhood to be struck by an EF1 tornado at 840 am EDT and an EF3 tornado later the same day. This neighborhood was literally devastated by these multiple events tracking over the same area.

9. Jun 18, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dade County Emergency Management Director and amateur radio operators reported extensive and widespread wind damage across the northern half of Dade county from an apparent microburst or widespread area of damaging thunderstorm outflow boundary winds. The most extensive damage was noted in the 9000 block of Scenic Highway, northeast of Trenton. The most significant damage extended from West Brow to Burkhalter Gap where hundreds of trees were either blown over or uprooted and dozens of power lines were also blown down or affected by downed trees. Portions of Lookout Mountain Scenic Highway were blocked from dozen of large downed trees. Two homes in West Brow completely lost…

10. Sep 16, 2004Flash Flood$350,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Dade County Sentinel and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported extensive and widespread flooding across the county. Fifteen to 20 residences from Rising Fawn to Lookout Mountain had to be evacuated because of flood waters, mostly from Lookout Creek and its tributaries. Several homes and business around the county suffered damage from flooding. Thirty-three roads were flooded around the county, several of which were either damaged or washed out. In addition, a bridge on Holder Loop Road was damaged from flood waters and had to be closed.

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

107°F2 times, most recently Jul 1, 2012

All-time low

−13°FJan 26, 1940

Warmest night

81°FJul 11, 1980

Coldest day

12°FDec 12, 1962

Wettest day

9.49 inSep 5, 2011

Snowiest day

18.5 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2024mean 64.6°F

Coldest year

1969mean 57.2°F

Wettest year

199473.70 in

Driest year

196835.09 in

Snowiest season

22.7 in1992-93

Station Chattanooga Airport (USW00013882), 669 ft elevation, 19.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1938 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 USW00013882.
• 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.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• 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.