Laurens County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Laurens County: 2.
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.

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 11, 2008Tornado$1.4 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down in far northern Laurens county, just south of the Wilkinson county line. The tornado initially touched down as an EF0 tornado near the intersection of Old Macon Road and Oscar Wynn Road. The tornado quickly intensified to an EF2 tornado as it tracked almost due eastward and crossed U.S. Highway 441 at the 2700 block, about seven miles northwest of Dublin, or near the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and Evergreen Road. Here, a double-wide mobile home was destroyed and the occupants, a man and woman in their early 50s were both killed.…

2. Oct 10, 2018Hurricane (Typhoon), Laurens$1.2 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   More than 150 homes or businesses were affected by the wind/rain from Michael. Nearly 60 had major damage and 5 were determined to be destroyed. Hundreds of reports of trees and powerlines were down across the county. EMA estimates nearly 90,000 cubic yards of debris has been removed.

3. May 24, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Laurens County Emergency Management Director reported that a downburst or microburst caused extensive damage to the Cedar Grove community in southern Laurens county. Two convenience stores, located at the intersection of Georgia Highways 46 and U.S. Highway 441, just west of Cedar Grove, suffered extensive damage. At one of these convenience stores, the awning was destroyed, one of the gas pumps was blown away and found several dozen feet away, and another was bent over. There was also damage to the roof, windows and the front of the store. A home across the street also sustained some roof and siding damage. In addition, at least two barns were destroyed and a trailer was…

4. May 11, 2008Tornado$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet another tornado touched down and skirted across the far northern part of Laurens county. This tornado was caused by a separate circulation, although within the same thunderstorm complex, that spawned the EF2 tornado slightly further southwest in north central Laurens county that resulted in two deaths and two injuries. This tornado touched down as an EF1 tornado in extreme northern Laurens county, approximately one mile west of Tuckers Crossroads. Near Tuckers Crossroads, one mobile home was destroyed and a manufactured home was pushed off its foundation. A truck…

5. Feb 6, 2013Dense Fog, Laurens$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Georgia State Patrol and several media outlets reported a multiple-vehicle accident along Interstate 16 at mile marker 38 near the Laurens/Twiggs county line. Twenty-seven vehicles, seven of them commercial trucks, were involved in the accident, which resulted in four fatalities and at least nine injuries.

6. May 11, 2008Tornado$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet a third tornado had touched down in Laurens county. This tornado was rated an EF1 tornado and touched down in southeast Laurens county, approximately one mile north of Lowrey. The tornado was short-lived and only remained on the ground for about 0.5 mile as it tracked east-southeast. However, this circulation reformed and strengthened into an EF3 tornado as it tracked into southern Truetlen county 10 minutes later. One mobile home was destroyed and numerous trees were snapped off or uprooted along the short path of the tornado. The maximum path width was estimated to be 200 yards wide.

7. Sep 6, 2004High Wind, Laurens$750,000
   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…

8. Feb 21, 2014Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service storm survey team determined that an EF2 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 124 MPH touched down just east of the airport in Dublin, where a house was destroyed. The tornado then continued east through North Dublin where damage was consistent with 100-110 MPH winds. In Dublin, 59 houses were damaged and 300-500 trees were downed as a result of this QLCS tornado. The tornado weakened as it moved through Laurens County and finally into Johnson County.|[02/21/14: Tornado #1, County #1-2, EF2, Laurens-Johnson, 2014:002].

9. Dec 28, 2005Tornado$450,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Laurens County Emergency Management Director confirmed that an F1 tornado touched down in the Ben Hall Lake area, approximately seven miles northeast of Dublin, and continued on an east-northeastward track to near the town of Lovett in extreme northeast Laurens county, then into extreme western Johnson county, lifting near the town of Spann. The tornado path was determined to be approximately four miles long and 300 feet wide at its maximum. The tornado crossed U.S. Highway 319 along the Laurens/Johnson county line. Along the damage path, in addition to trees and power lines, a mobile home was destroyed and a car was turned over.

10. Apr 25, 2015Hail$439,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The broadcast media relayed photos of baseball size hail that fell on the Academy Avenue Extension in Dublin.

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

110°FJun 28, 1954

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FJun 27, 1952

Coldest day

20°FDec 24, 1989

Wettest day

7.50 inOct 4, 2026

Snowiest day

3.5 inFeb 26, 1914

Hottest year

1911mean 69.3°F

Coldest year

1958mean 63.1°F

Wettest year

194765.57 in

Driest year

195426.41 in

Station Eastman 1 W (USC00092966), 400 ft elevation, 27.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 26, 2026; 96.8% 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 USC00092966.
• 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.