Elbert County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Elbert$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thousands of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 70 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 80 mph.

2. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Elbert$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began over extreme northeast Georgia around noon on the 4th, and resultant tree and power line damage began during the mid afternoon. By dawn on the 5th, 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice had accumulated. Power outages lasted for several days in some areas.

3. Oct 7, 2021Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County comms and stream gauges reported significant flash flooding developed along multiple streams in northern Elbert County. Four to seven inches fell across the area in around a 24-hour period, but the bulk of that fell with a cluster of slow-moving thunderstorms during the morning of the 7th. Multiple roads were damaged from flood water, including Dusty Rd (from Butler Creek), where a vehicle was driven into high water and three occupants required rescue, Allen White Rd (from Deep Creek), Blue Hole Rd (from Little Dove Creek), Gin Bridge Rd, and Green Acres Rd (from a tributary of Pickens Creek). Additionally, a stream gauge on Beaverdam Creek north of Elberton indicated major…

4. May 6, 2003Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado moved from Madison County into northwest Elbert County and intensified, destroying or severely damaging several houses and mobile homes. A parked car was also flipped before the tornado lifted.

5. Mar 15, 2008Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS survey found a tornado damage track in far southern and southeast Elbert County. The tornado, which was spawned from a supercell, touched down southeast of Fortsonia near the intersection of River Rd and Flatwoods Rd. As the tornado tracked east along River Rd, damage was mainly confined to trees and power lines. The tornado began to take on a more east/southeast track near the intersection of River Rd and Balchin Rd, remaining just north of the Wilkes County line. Intensification occurred just west of highway 79 near its intersection with Cooter Creek Rd. The tornado continued to track east southeast, snapping or uprooting numerous trees between Cooter Creek Rd and the Broad…

6. Sep 16, 2004Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down near Fortsonia, causing damage to a house. A resident of the house received minor injuries. Damage was mainly restricted to trees along the the remainder of the path.

7. Nov 30, 2022Lightning$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A lightning strike caused a structure on fire on Rock Branch Rd.

8. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Elbert$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds developed during mid-evening across portions of the piedmont of northeast Georgia, as the remnants of Ivan passed to the west of the area. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down.

9. May 3, 2021Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey found the path of a weak, short track tornado along Bowman Highway just northwest of the city of Elberton. A large metal storage building was heavily damaged between Allen Lane and Lena Dr. Otherwise, damage was limited to a few snapped trees and downed limbs.

10. Dec 2, 2009Flash Flood$50,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A bridge was washed out on Kurt Anderson Rd.

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

109°FJul 19, 1913

All-time low

−6°FDec 13, 1962

Warmest night

83°FJul 26, 1914

Coldest day

11°FFeb 14, 1899

Wettest day

9.60 inAug 25, 1908

Snowiest day

6.5 inMar 11, 1960

Hottest year

1911mean 64.9°F

Coldest year

2000mean 57.6°F

Wettest year

190869.45 in

Driest year

201626.01 in

Snowiest season

12.0 in1959-60

Station Elberton 2 N (USC00093060), 540 ft elevation, 1.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 27, 2026; 98.5% 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 USC00093060.
• 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.