Dawson County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Dawson County: 5.
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.

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 (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. Mar 15, 2008Hail$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An amateur radio operator reported baseball-sized hail in eastern Dawson county.

2. Jan 22, 2000Ice Storm, Dawson$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…

3. Feb 21, 2005Lightning$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dawson News & Advertiser reported that lightning struck and destroyed a $600,000 home in the Ridgeview community.

4. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Dawson$600,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dawson County Emergency Manager reported hundreds of trees blown down across the county as well as numerous power lines. Not counting trees on private property, 304 trees were removed from county road right of ways alone. During the storm, at least 30 roads were completely blocked by downed trees and power lines. Fifty six homes reported damage, 5 with major damage and 1 destroyed. Three commercial buildings had damage, 2 minor and 1 major, and Fire Station 1 suffered wind damage to an exterior door and exterior roofing trim. Over 7000 customers were without power, about 70% of the county. Landline phones and cellular service were out in certain parts of the county for over a…

5. Mar 15, 2008Hail$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public observed golf ball-sized hail.

6. Nov 11, 2002Lightning$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dawson News and Advertiser reported that lightning struck and destroyed two homes in extreme western Dawson county near the Pickens county border on Mulkey Road. Eight people were left homeless as a result. A vehicle also suffered extensive damage at one of the residences. In addition, one family lost one of their pets in the fire.

7. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Dawson$250,000
   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…

8. Sep 16, 2004Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported that significant flooding was reported across many areas of Dawson County. Four mobile homes were flooded, two bridges were breached because of flood waters, six culverts were washed away or damaged, and one dam was breached. Several roads throughout the county were flooded and closed as well.

9. Apr 13, 2009High Wind, Dawson$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Dawson County Emergency Management Director reported that many trees were down in the Big Canoe area of northern Dawson county. Seven homes were damaged during the wind storm, including one on Bearden Road that suffered significant damage. A female was initially trapped in the home, but was able to escape on her own. In addition, an individual was injured when they were struck by a tree limb. Thirty-five roads were blocked and closed from widespread downed trees.

10. Jan 28, 2005Winter Storm, Dawson$250,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A significant and fairly prolonged winter storm/ice storm affected nearly all of North and Central Georgia from the evening of Friday January 28th to late morning on Sunday January 30th. The winter storm was a result of a very strong and very cold Arctic surface high pressure system located across the Mid-Atlantic states and an upper-level disturbance moving across the region from the west. North of a line from La Grange, to Thomaston, to Sandersville, the precipitation fell mostly as a mixture of sleet and freezing rain, with typical accumulations of one-half inch glaze ice and one to two inches of sleet. Some areas in North Central and Northeast Georgia experienced significant…

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°F3 times, most recently Jul 29, 1952

All-time low

−8°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FAug 4, 1928

Coldest day

9°FFeb 14, 1899

Wettest day

6.60 inOct 2, 2012

Snowiest day

11.0 inMar 3, 1942

Hottest year

1998mean 63.7°F

Coldest year

1968mean 56.7°F

Wettest year

200980.25 in

Driest year

190420.96 in

Snowiest season

18.7 in1959-60

Station Gainesville (USC00093621), 1,170 ft elevation, 15.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to September 10, 2026; 94.1% 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 USC00093621.
• 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.