Echols County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

Costliest events since 1996

1. Apr 20, 2026Wildfire, Echols$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   By the 20th of April, the Pineland Road fire wildfire that ignited over southern Clinch County crossed into Echols County, with several roads north of route 94E told to prepare to evacuate. The fire grew to 16500 acres by the 21st of April, with a mandatory evacuation issued for Will Rewis Rd and Chauncey Rd. By the 22nd of April, the fire reached about 29600 acres in size, and the Fruitland area was added to the mandatory evacuation. By the 26th, the fire had grown to 32000 acres and 14 roads were closed in Echols County as a result. A report from the Georgia Forestry Commission on the 28th of April stated that 187 residences and 123 other minor structures remained threatened as…

2. May 1, 2026Wildfire, Echols$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   By the 20th of April, the Pineland Road fire that ignited over southern Clinch County crossed into Echols County. On May 1st, the fire was 32,575 acres with 40% containment. The mandatory evacuation order issued for Echols County by the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) and Echols County EMA was lifted on May 1st. Road closures continued for Pineland Rd, Gopher Lope Rd, Register, Worth Ln, Joes Ln, Will Rewis Rd, New Barnes Rd, Gaddis Rd, King Rd, Jesse Ln, May Ln, Chauncey Rd, and Hendley Rd. On May 2nd, a passing cold front brought a soaking, beneficial rain of 1-1.5 inches across the fire with minimal lightning activity. Will Rewis Rd reopened on May 4th. On May 5th, the fire…

3. Mar 1, 1998Flood, Echols$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Total flooding related to El Nino. More than 200 homes damaged. Flooding mainly along the St Mary's, Altamaha, and Satilla Rivers. Some areas also effect with Closed Basin flooding.

4. Sep 3, 1998Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A roof was blown off a home. Large trees and power lines were blown down.

5. Mar 12, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$12,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EM reports about a dozen trees down across the area. Time estimated from radar.

6. Nov 6, 2002Tornado$10,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Trees blown down along highway 94 between Needmore and Fargo. Discontinuous 200 Yard wide debris field reported.

7. Mar 1, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$5,000
8. Jun 12, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$3,500
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large trees and power lines were blown down.

9. Jun 30, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$3,500
   National Weather Service narrative

   Large trees and power lines were blown down.

10. Feb 14, 2000Thunderstorm Wind$2,500
    National Weather Service narrative

    Large trees and power lines were blown down.

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

106°F2 times, most recently Jun 15, 2011

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FAug 4, 2015

Coldest day

24°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.62 inMar 27, 1984

Snowiest day

1.2 inJan 21, 2025

Hottest year

2024mean 71.0°F

Coldest year

1966mean 65.1°F

Wettest year

199167.99 in

Driest year

200731.25 in

Snowiest season

2.2 in2024-25

Station Valdosta Regional Airport (USW00093845), 193 ft elevation, 14.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 98.7% 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 USW00093845.
• 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.