Franklin County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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 16, 2004Tornado$1.1 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado moved north across the town of Franklin Springs, damaging or destroying numerous structures along its 3-mile path. The city government building and the fire and police stations incurred significant damage, as did approximately 25 residences. Several large chicken houses were also destroyed.

2. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Franklin$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. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Franklin$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70 mph.

4. May 6, 2003Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down near Brays Lake and damaged several homes and businesses along its 6-mile track.

5. Apr 13, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   County comms reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across Franklin County. The hardest hit area was the Gumlog community, where some structural damage occurred, mainly due to trees and large limbs falling on structures.

6. Sep 16, 2004Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down west of Franklin Springs, then moved north-northwest, damaging several homes, businesses, and vehicles as it tracked toward Carnesville. Numerous trees and power lines were also blown down. A 38-year-old woman was killed when the vehicle she was driving was hit by a falling tree. A passenger in the vehicle received minor injuries.

7. Dec 15, 2005Ice Storm, Franklin$50,000
8. Oct 4, 2015Heavy Rain$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Public reported multiple trees down in the Carnesville area due to a combination of saturated soil and gusty winds. One tree fell on a home on Highway 59.

9. Sep 16, 2004Tornado$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down near Carnesville, then tracked northwest toward Red Hill, damaging a few homes, as well as numerous trees and power lines along its 5-mile track.

10. Jun 4, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A severe thunderstorm blew down numerous trees and powers lines and blew part of a roof off of a business.

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°F2 times, most recently Jul 29, 1952

All-time low

−5°F2 times, most recently Jan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°F2 times, most recently Jul 10, 1986

Coldest day

22°FDec 31, 1917

Wettest day

7.20 inAug 16, 1994

Snowiest day

10.0 inMar 2, 1942

Hottest year

1986mean 64.6°F

Coldest year

1996mean 59.3°F

Wettest year

202072.20 in

Driest year

201627.24 in

Snowiest season

13.1 in1935-36

Station Hartwell (USC00094133), 805 ft elevation, 14.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1908 to October 23, 2026; 97.1% 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 USC00094133.
• 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.