Hart County

Every recorded tornado

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

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, Hart$1.0 million
   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.

2. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Hart$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. Mar 26, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency manager reported five chicken houses collapsed off Woodland Way. A few tree limbs were blown down as well.

4. Jan 19, 2001Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A cold front crossed northeast Georgia on the 19th, producing strong convection. A small tornado moved west to east, first damaging a couple of chicken houses west of Highway 17, then causing more substantial damage from 1/4 to 1/2 mile east of the highway. Three houses were damaged, a mobile home was pushed off its foundation, and trees were downed.The tornado damage was maximized on the hilltops. The most damage, $25,000 or so, occurred at the last house, where mid F1-level damage occurred. Most of the damage was F0 to low F1. Rear flank downdraft winds occurred just southeast of the tornado, mostly in the form of destroyed barns and chicken houses.

5. Jun 1, 2026Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   NWS storm survey reported wind damage along the western shores of Lake Hartwell throughout Hart County, with the most concentrated swath of damage extending from Hart State Park SSE to the Elbert County border near Montevideo, where numerous trees were blown down. The highest estimated wind gusts of 75 mph occurred along Old Highway 29 and Elrod Ferry Rd where dozens of trees were downed, with several falling on homes. At least one outbuilding received roof damage near the Elbert County line.

6. May 9, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wind damage was reported to a house, a school, and a mobile home. Numerous trees and powerlines were also blown down, some onto vehicles and homes.

7. Feb 6, 2020Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EM reported flash flooding developed across Hart County after up to 5.5 inches of rain fell across the county in around 24 hours, with much of that falling during the morning of the 6th. Numerous roads reportedly had water flowing of them due to a combination of poor drainage and small stream flooding, with around three dozen roads reportedly closed at the height of the event. Around a half dozen roads were washed out, including Deer Run Lane, Wisteria Cove Estate, Alexander Ray Road, Hill Road, and Jud Cole Road. Flood water infiltrated two homes, with one resident being evacuated.

8. Apr 5, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EM reported about a half dozen homes damaged in southern hart county, two by falling trees and the others with roofs partially torn off. Numerous trees were also blown down. Sporadic damage began on Airline-Goldmine Rd, with a damage swath increasing in intensity as it moved east across the Highway 29 corridor and Zion CME Church Rd, and was most concentrated around Liberty Hill Rd and Page Rd.

9. Jun 7, 2025Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Emergency manager and utility company reported multiple trees and power lines blown down throughout Hart County. A chicken house was also destroyed.

10. Dec 15, 2005Ice Storm, Hart$50,000

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, 2.0 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.