Lowndes County

Every recorded tornado

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

Every large fire

1. Large fires mapped by the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program since 1984: 1,000 acres or more in the West, 500 or more in the East. Prescribed burns are excluded. Acres here are the part of each perimeter inside this place.

Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity (USGS and U.S. Forest Service), 1984 to 2026.

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. Sep 26, 2024Hurricane (Typhoon), Lowndes$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A huge number of trees and power lines were blown down. Approximately 99% of Lowndes County lost power, and thousands of power lines were down across local roads. Colquitt Electric reported 1000 broken power poles in their service area, mostly in Lowndes and Berrien Counties. The Willis L. Miller Library sustained major damage and will be closed until further notice. The tower at VLD airport had all the windows blown out. Two deaths occurred due to trees falling into homes. There were also 77 injuries reported. In Valdosta, dozens of homes are now unlivable.

2. Aug 30, 2023Hurricane (Typhoon), Lowndes$20.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   There were 1,127 homes damaged, with 684 being destroyed or receiving major damage. The current combined property damage estimate at $20 million is likely to go higher. Over 1000 calls were received for downed trees and power lines. At the peak, over 90% of residents were without power with 75% still without power 24 hours later. Over 100 roads were closed. I-75 was closed at two locations. Approximately 31,009 residents, or 97% lost power.

3. Sep 10, 2017Tropical Storm, Lowndes$9.0 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…

4. Nov 6, 2024Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Extremely heavy rainfall occurred in a short period of time over Valdosta, leading to catastrophic flash flooding. Around 10 inches of rain fell in a 6 hour period. The 1000 year Average Recurrence Interval for a 6 hour rainfall in that area is estimated to be 8.59 inches, so this was a very rare event. Impacts were catastrophic with numerous homes flooded in Valdosta. Known catastrophic flooding occurred in the Chadwyck Subdivision, perimeter circle, Floyd St, Dukes Bay, Lee Street, Pin Oak, Lakeland, and Sugar Creek areas. Catastrophic flooding was generally centered predominantly around the Browns Canal, Dukes Bay East and west, Knights Creek, and One Mile Branch tributaries.…

5. Mar 27, 2024Thunderstorm Wind$3.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Based on storm reports and radar data, damage began near the I-75 Exit 18 in Valdosta and continued East-Northeast through the northwest portion of Valdosta. Within this area, numerous large pine trees were uprooted with a few snapped along the swath of severe winds. All trees uprooted or snapped were facing to the east or northeast, which is indicative of straight-line wind damage. Moreover, radar data from Moody Air Force Base displayed a distinct downburst signature throughout the duration of the storm in Valdosta. Examination of the photos and drone imagery from Valdosta Fire and Lowndes County EMA showed that in some areas, damage was extensive with widespread pine trees…

6. Apr 2, 2009Flood$2.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Moderate to major flooding along the Withlacoochee River north of Valdosta closed Franklinville Road and Little River Road, as well as several bridges. At least 100 homes were flooded.

7. Aug 5, 2024Tropical Storm, Lowndes$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   About 34,000 residents lost power due to numerous downed trees and power lines across the county. Valdosta State University had 6 buildings with water damage due to leaking roofs, and one from a tree falling on the building. The Parks and Recreation Authority had a tree cause extensive roof damage to their main office which also resulted in water damage from rain coming in. Four other residences reported flooding. Total estimated damage is $1 million.

8. Sep 26, 2004Tropical Storm, Lowndes$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tropical Storm Jeanne moved north across south central Georgia during the early morning hours of September 27. Maximum sustained winds up to 40 knots with peak gusts to 50 knots were reported. The lowest sea-level pressure was 987.8 mb at Valdosta, GA. Rainfall totals varied from an inch at Albany, GA to nine inches at Tifton, GA. Widespread areal flooding was reported over portions of south central Georgia. In Lowndes County, high water forced 700 residents of a Valdosta subdivision to evacuate. The Withlacoochee River near Valdosta rose above flood stage. Many county and dirt roads were washed out. Schools and local businesses were closed on September 27. There were numerous…

9. Jun 11, 2001Flash Flood$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison dumped up to 11 inches of rain Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Eight inches of rain fell in Valdosta. Numerous county roads and highways were closed, with numerous washouts. Six families on Martin Lane off of Quitman Road were evacuated from their homes. Numerous trees down in the Sugar Creek subdivision near Valdosta. Several bridges were damaged. A state of emergency was declared for Lowndes County. Reported by the Lowndes County EMA.

10. Sep 2, 2016Tropical Storm, Lowndes$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Hurricane Hermine impacted southwest Georgia in early September with significant inland wind gusts which downed numerous trees and power lines. Rainfall generally ranged from 3-8 with minimal impacts from inland flooding. County by county impacts are as follows. ||In Cook county, there were numerous trees and power lines blown down. A tree fell across Highway 41 at Dardon Road, causing a traffic crash which resulted in 1 injury. Total damage cost was estimated.||In Grady county, 55-60 trees were blown down across roadways. Approximately 2800 customers lost power. The main damage was across the southeast part of the county from the Spence area to Whigham. Total damage cost was…

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°F2 times, most recently Jun 15, 2011

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FAug 4, 2015

Coldest day

24°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

7.62 inMar 27, 1984

Snowiest day

1.2 inJan 21, 2025

Hottest year

2024mean 71.0°F

Coldest year

1966mean 65.1°F

Wettest year

199167.99 in

Driest year

200731.25 in

Snowiest season

2.2 in2024-25

Station Valdosta Regional Airport (USW00093845), 193 ft elevation, 5.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 98.7% 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 USW00093845.
• 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.