McIntosh County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 11, 2008Tornado$12.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey team from the National Weather Service Office in Charleston, South Carolina along with other damage survey experts from across the country determined that the Tornado that struck McIntosh county Georgia on Sunday morning May 11, was a violent EF-4. The Tornado beginning and end times are based on radar data combined with credible ground truth reports. ||The Tornado formed at 952 am, approximately 3 miles northwest of Darien, Georgia and tracked east about 11 miles before dissipating at 1007 am as a water spout in Doboy Sound. ||The Tornado formed in a wooded area about a half mile west of Route 251 where numerous trees were snapped off. The Tornado strengthened rapidly as…

2. Sep 11, 2017Storm Surge/Tide, Coastal Mcintosh$967,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   McIntosh Emergency Management reported extensive storm surge flooding and inundation across coastal portions of the county, including islands. County dispatch reported 2 feet of water on the road on Butler Island at Highway 17 as well as 2 feet of water on Blue N Hall Road due to storm surge. USGS high water mark analysis revealed inundation above ground level ranging from 1.37-3.87 feet in coastal portions of the county. The peak inundation measured occurred on Graystone Road where a high water mark showed 3.87 feet above ground level. Also of note, the USGS site Hudson Creek at Meridian Landing (USGS site number 022035975) reached a record level of 7.75 feet during the event.…

3. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Coastal Mcintosh$967,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   McIntosh County Emergency Management reported numerous trees down across the county due to strong winds associated with Hurricane Irma. The NERRS site on Sapelo Island measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph during the event.

4. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Depression, Inland Mcintosh$966,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   McIntosh County Emergency Management reported numerous trees down across the county due to strong winds associated with Hurricane Irma.

5. Jun 18, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$70,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The McIntosh county Georgia Emergency Manager, reported at least 10 homes sustained damage along Shellman Bluff Road, near Shellman Bluff, Georgia. One mobile home still had its roof intact, but the walls were blown out by the strong winds. A few homes had holes in their roofs from fallen trees or tree limbs, a few aluminum carports were blown into trees, and several power lines were reported down as well.

6. Apr 13, 2009Tornado$35,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team determined a tornado occurred south of the Credit Hill community off Briardam Road around 440 PM Eastern Daylight Time, which is located about 3 miles southeast of Townsend. The tornado traveled to the northeast across an open field and produced extensive tree damage to various pines and hardwoods. The tornado crossed Briardam Road and struck the First Credit Hill Baptist Church, lifting and destroying its large front end porch. Both the tree and structural damage to the church were consistent with an EF-1 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale with winds estimated to be around 100 miles per hour. The tornado continued to move rapidly…

7. Sep 11, 2017Flash Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Local broadcast media reported flash flooding from heavy rainfall associated with Hurricane Irma. Pictures showed several structures submerged due to flood waters on Highway 17 south of Darien. Water was nearly up to the windows on one structure.

8. Jun 23, 2009Coastal Flood, Coastal Mcintosh$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Federal employee reported that roads were flodded throughout Sapelo Island due to anomalously high tides, with some culverts washed out.

9. Jun 18, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The McIntosh county Georgia Emergency Manager reported two trees were knocked down by strong thunderstorm winds, completely destroying two vehicles.

10. Jun 11, 2010Thunderstorm Wind$15,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A emergency manager reported powerlines down in 8 locations around Darien, Georgia. A few homes had minor roof damage due to falling limbs.

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

105°FJul 20, 1986

All-time low

3°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FAug 25, 1959

Coldest day

21°FDec 24, 1989

Wettest day

8.07 inJun 23, 1984

Snowiest day

2.9 inDec 23, 1989

Hottest year

2017mean 70.5°F

Coldest year

1968mean 65.4°F

Wettest year

199165.19 in

Driest year

199032.04 in

Snowiest season

4.7 in1989-90

Station Sapelo Is (USC00097808), 10 ft elevation, 9.3 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1957 to October 2, 2026; 92.7% 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 USC00097808.
• 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.