Lee County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Lee County: 3.
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.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Oct 10, 2018Hurricane (Typhoon), Lee$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Michael started as typical weak October Caribbean tropical system. However, after approximately a week of slow development, the system moved into warm Gulf of Mexico waters and rapidly intensified into a major hurricane as it moved north towards the Florida Panhandle. After a 2-day long intensification period over the eastern Gulf, Michael made landfall as an unprecedented (for the region) high-end category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale in the Florida Panhandle with maximum sustained wind speed of 155 mph and a minimum pressure 919 mb. Based on wind, Michael is the fourth most powerful hurricane to hit the United States, behind the Labor Day…

2. Sep 10, 2017Tropical Storm, Lee$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Irma brought numerous impacts to the Florida Big Bend, southwest Georgia and southeast Alabama including widespread downed trees and power lines, roads blocked by trees, power outages, and trees on homes. Two people died during the event - one due to a car crash (Liberty County, FL) and another that had a heart attack (Worth County, GA). Two indirect deaths occurred due to carbon monoxide from a generator (Taylor County, FL). While many counties across the Florida Big Bend and southwest Georgia were impacted, the greatest impacts were across the eastern portion of the area near the I-75 corridor. There were over 6.5 million customers without power in Florida, over…

3. Apr 14, 2007Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A tornado touched down near the Terrell-Lee county line on State Highway 32. Fifteen structures were damaged. A mobile home and frame home were destroyed. One woman was trapped in the bathroom of her home but was not injured. Numerous trees and power lines were down. Nearly 1,000 homes lost power.

4. Mar 18, 2021Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado touched down near the intersection of U.S. Route 19 and Century Road East where a pine tree was snapped. Further east on Century Road, the tornado snapped another large pine and did considerable structural damage to the property. About 60% of the roof of well-built home was removed. A substantial carport was ripped off the home and tossed several feet. One wall segment of a large garage was sucked outward. The tornado did not do any appreciable damage to houses to the right or left of this residence. After moving over an unpopulated swamp area, the tornado snapped several softwood pines and uprooted several large hardwood trees at 669 Lovers Lane Road. The tornado…

5. Dec 24, 2015Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant flooding occurred within the Kinchafoonee Creek basin as well as the lower portions of the Muckalee Creek basin. The Kinchafoonee crested at its 3rd highest stage on record, causing significant damage to homes in the area, especially along Century Road. Some homes on North Hampton Road also received flooding from Muckalee Creek. The damage cost was estimated.

6. Dec 24, 2002Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Six homes were heavily damaged and 20 homes received minor damage along a path from just southwest of Palmyra to Leesburg. A school and church also sustained damage. There were numerous downed trees and power lines. A state of emergency was declared. Reported by a SKYWARN spotter and GEMA.

7. Mar 8, 1998Flood, Lee$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense Gulf storm produced 5 to 12 inches of rain across much of southwest Georgia on March 7-9 which caused widespread flooding. Baker, Ben Hill, Cook, Colquitt, Dougherty, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Terrell, Decatur, Early, Brooks, Colquitt, Clay, Seminole, Calhoun, Thomas, and Worth counties were declared federal disaster areas. In Ben Hill County, floodwaters claimed the life of a Irwinville man whose vehicle overturned. In Baker County, several homes and businesses were flooded in Newton. 100 residents within the Newton city limits were evacuated. Numerous county and secondary roads were closed. Flooding along the Itchuaway-Nochaway Creek forced additional evacuations at…

8. May 10, 2006Thunderstorm Wind$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Lee County Sheriff reported numerous trees down throughout the county. Some mobile homes were damaged by fallen trees.

9. Jul 9, 2005Hurricane (Typhoon), Lee$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Dennis came ashore along the central Gulf coast on July 10. The lowest sea-level pressure and peak wind gust recorded were 1007.5 mb and 42 mph, respectively, at Albany, GA. Heavy rainfall commenced July 10, and persisted into the early morning hours of July 11. A nearly stationary feeder band from the eastern Florida Panhandle into southwest Georgia produced four to eight inches, with isolated amounts up to a foot. In Colquitt County, flash flooding along the Okapilco Creek in Moultrie damaged many homes, washed out roads, and forced the evacuation of 100 homes. Heavy rains in the upper Flint River basin generated high flows which reached as far south as Bainbridge, GA.…

10. Apr 6, 2022Tornado$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A tornado touched down southwest of the intersection of New York Rd and Larsen Rd in Lee County shortly before 3:30 pm EDT. The tornado caused considerable tree damage as it moved northeastward towards Lake Blackshear. There was also roof damage to several homes along the path. The damage in Lee county was consistent with an EF1 tornado with winds of approximately 105 mph. The start point was based on a combination of radar data and video of the tornado initiation found on social media. This tornado continued into Sumter County.

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

106°FAug 7, 2007

All-time low

12°FJan 22, 2025

Warmest night

80°F2 times, most recently Aug 9, 2007

Coldest day

30°F2 times, most recently Jan 7, 2014

Wettest day

5.29 inMar 28, 2009

Snowiest day

0.9 inJan 18, 2026

Hottest year

2019mean 70.1°F

Coldest year

2014mean 65.8°F

Wettest year

194866.72 in

Driest year

201126.79 in

Station Albany Sw Georgia Regional Airport (USW00013869), 191 ft elevation, 10.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 85.5% 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 USW00013869.
• 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.