Decatur County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Oct 10, 2018Hurricane (Typhoon), Decatur$300 million
   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…

2. Mar 8, 1998Flood, Decatur$25.0 million
   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…

3. Aug 22, 2008Tropical Storm, Decatur$1.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Numerous trees and power lines were down throughout the county. Of the two dozen homes affected by flood waters and winds, nine were damaged and one was destroyed. Several roads were washed away in the Climax area where up to 20 inches of rain fell. One business suffered major damage. Twenty-six roads were closed to flood waters, including Bower Station Road, which was inundated with water after more than 16 inches f rain fell over the southern portion of the county. Spring Creek near Iron City crested well short of the 1998 flood level, at two feet above flood stage. The rising waters forced the closure of part of Whites Bridge Road and near State Road 285 in Brinson. A state of…

4. Feb 13, 2000Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado destroyed several homes, and downed trees and power lines at the intersection of CR 97 and CR 262. One person was injured by flying debris. Decatur County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by the Decatur County EMA.

5. Mar 15, 2001Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An F2 tornado touched down on Fewell Road in the Bell Dixon Community and tracked northeast into western Grady County. Debris was scattered over a wide area. Four persons were injured, one critically. Five homes sustained roof and window damage. Numerous trees and power lines down. One house was destroyed and eight others were severely damaged. A double-wide mobile home on Bell Dixon Road was lifted from its foundation and reduced to bits of debris in a neighboring field. Reported by the Decatur County EMA and Bainbridge Post Searchlight.

6. Jul 9, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Decatur$300,000
   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.…

7. Jan 1, 2016Flood$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Flint River at Bainbridge crested in the moderate flood stage category at its 11th highest crest on record on January 4th. The Bainbridge water treatment plant suffered significant damage due to the flooding. Damage cost for Decatur county was estimated at $300,000.

8. Apr 5, 2009Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Minor to moderate flooding was observed along the Flint River. Runoff from Twin Lakes, Lake Douglas and Slough flooded 25 mobile homes in the Slough Loop subdivision about 5 miles north of Bainbridge.

9. Aug 23, 2008Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several roads and low lying areas were flooded, including portions of U.S. Highway 84 near the Decatur-Grady county line, where several cars stalled in high water. A portion of Wautauga Road near Attapulgus was washed out.

10. Jul 11, 2005Flash Flood$200,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Three to four inches of rain in a three-hour period washed out several county roads. Reported by the Decatur County EMA.

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°FJun 15, 2011

All-time low

6°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FJul 15, 1980

Coldest day

28°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

8.86 inSep 21, 1969

Snowiest day

2.4 inFeb 12, 1958

Hottest year

2015mean 71.8°F

Coldest year

1979mean 65.5°F

Wettest year

1964104.18 in

Driest year

195430.98 in

Snowiest season

2.8 in1957-58

Station Tallahassee (USW00093805), 177 ft elevation, 36.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1940 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00093805.
• 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.