Heard County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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. May 7, 2003Flash Flood$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Heard county 911 center reported that many roads across the county were flooded with water flowing across the roads. Several individuals has to be rescued in northern Heard county along Centralhatchee Creek. The News & Banner of Franklin reported that more than 20 roads were left impassable. Several homes in the county also experienced flooding resulting in minor damage. Two individuals had to be rescued from a tree when their Jeep became stranded in flood waters which rose over the hood of the vehicle. Recreational ball fields and the Chattahoochee Walking Trail were completely inundated during and for a couple of days after the flooding commenced.

2. Apr 27, 2011Tornado$1.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the EF0 tornado, which first touched down in north central Troup county, continued across far southeast Heard county before moving into southwest Coweta county. The tornado strengthened to an EF1 rating through much of Heard county and into Coweta county. A little over four miles of the tornado path was within southeast Heard county, while the entire path length of this tornado was on the order of 17 miles. The maximum path width was determined to be 100 yards with maximum winds of 90 mph. Much of the structural damage associated with this tornado occurred within…

3. Jan 22, 2000Ice Storm, Heard$980,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Wintry precipitation plagued the northern third of Georgia beginning Saturday and continued into Sunday. A shallow cold airmass with single-digit dewpoint temperatures was in place over north Georgia, with temperatures in the upper 20s to lower 30s over much of the area. An upper level disturbance moved rapidly over the area in a fast zonal flow, bringing an increase in mid-tropospheric moisture. At the same time, lower level moisture spread into the area from the Gulf of Mexico. Precipitation began falling into the colder layer of air near the surface by mid-morning on the 22nd. The mixture of light rain, snow and sleet had spread from northwest to northeast Georgia by early…

4. Aug 29, 2005Tornado$750,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Survey Team concluded that an F2 tornado touched down approximately 1/4 mile south of Glenloch in far northern Heard county, then continued north at 30-35 mph into Carroll county about three miles southeast of Roopville, finally terminating three miles northeast of Roopville. This was the first confirmed tornado in the Peachtree City forecast area associated with Hurricane Katrina. While the overall damage path with this tornado was 5.5 miles long, only 1.5 miles of this damage path occurred within Heard county. The path width of this tornado was approximately 200 yards wide. Several homes in the Glenloch area were severely damaged, along with a number of downed…

5. Mar 25, 2021Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey determined that an EF2 tornado with maximum wind speeds 130 MPH and a maximum path width of 850 yards occurred in Heard County. The tornado formed west of Franklin near Redland Road north of Highway 34 producing minor damage to trees. The tornado traveled east-northeast gradually gaining intensity and producing more widespread damage to trees and power lines along highway 34 west of Franklin. The tornado grew in size and strength as it entered Franklin and crossed the Chattahoochee River with winds around 130 mph and a path width around 850 yards. Damage in Franklin was extensive with several homes heavily damaged or destroyed. Two homes had roofs…

6. Apr 15, 2011Lightning$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported that lightning struck a home on Georgia Highway 34 in Franklin setting the house on fire. The house was completely destroyed by the fire.

7. May 3, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Heard County 911 Center and the Heard County Sheriff's Office reported that more than two dozen trees were down across the county, and a number of power lines as well. Two homes in Franklin suffered extensive structural damage from downed trees.

8. Apr 19, 2006Hail$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several reports of golf ball-sized hail were received from storm spotters of golf ball-sized hail from southeast of Centralhatchee to the far southeast corner of Heard county in Corinth, including the south side of Franklin. The Heard County Emergency Management Director reported quarter-sized hail in the northeast part of the county east of Centralhatchee.

9. Sep 7, 2004High Wind, Heard$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High wind damage, associated with Tropical Storm Frances, is listed below, in alphabetical order by county for those counties that "high wind" criteria was either met or assumed to be met.Baldwin: The Georgia Emergency Management Agency reported that extensive and widespread wind damage was observed. Many trees and power lines were down throughout the county and many parts of the county were expected to be without power for up to four days as a result. In addition, four homes suffered major damage and five suffered minor damage. One man was injured and taken to a local hospital when a tree fell on his mobile home. Four to five inches of rain was also reported throughout the…

10. May 7, 2003Tornado$80,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    An employee of the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia conducted a survey and concluded that a very brief F0 tornado touched down just east of Barkers Crossroads just off Nonomis Road. A one-year old house and several adjacent structures suffered considerable damage. A 138 square foot barn was lifted completely off its foundation and the roof of the foundation landed on the roof of the home causing considerable damage to the roof of the home. In addition, a 1200 square foot hay barn was severely damaged along with a small shed and several fences on the property were also severely damaged by downed trees and structural debris. Four large oak trees…

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

103°F4 times, most recently Jul 2, 2012

All-time low

−9°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°F2 times, most recently Jul 3, 1997

Coldest day

16°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.66 inSep 21, 2009

Snowiest day

8.5 inMar 2, 1942

Hottest year

1997mean 63.5°F

Coldest year

1968mean 59.0°F

Wettest year

201873.42 in

Driest year

195425.65 in

Snowiest season

9.0 in2017-18

Station Carrollton (USC00091640), 995 ft elevation, 20.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1904 to October 27, 2026; 98.0% 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 USC00091640.
• 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.