Putnam County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Putnam County: 4.
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. Apr 28, 2011Tornado$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet another EF1 tornado had touched down in east central Georgia. This was a weak EF1 tornado that touched down in southeast Putnam county near the town of Flat Rock and traveled northeast into western Hancock county before lifting. The tornado weakened to an EF0 strength as it moved into Hancock county and lifted approximately six miles northwest of Devereux. The total path length of the tornado was determined to be seven miles, of which slightly less than four miles fell within Putnam county. The maximum path width was determined to be 200 yards with maximum winds…

2. Jun 11, 2008Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Eatonton Messenger reported that lightning struck Oconee Porter Fireplace and Insulation Building, a warehouse off Sammons Industrial Boulevard on the northwest side of Eatonton, was destroyed when a lightning strike set the roof and piles of insulation on fire.

3. Sep 7, 2004High Wind, Putnam$250,000
   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…

4. Mar 18, 2013Hail$222,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported golfball sized hail in Eatonton. The hail was so deep it covered the ground completely.

5. Jun 12, 2001Flash Flood$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Putnam County 911 center reported that several roads in the county were flooded, including some state highways. Several secondary roads had to be closed, but most were reopened. While no major damage was reported, rather extensive repairs were required to some roads because of culvert damage and erosion caused by the high water. Rainfall of 3 to 5 inches in a 3 to 5 hour time period contributed to the flooding.

6. Aug 6, 2015Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Analysis of damage photos by the National Weather Service determined that microburst winds up to 85 mph downed 50 to 100 trees at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center. Two cars were destroyed and seven cabins were damaged due by falling trees or limbs. Four hundred students and adults were visiting the center at the time, however no injuries reported.

7. Feb 18, 2009Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An aerial and ground survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in cooperation with the Putnam County Emergency Management Director confirmed that an EF1 tornado carved an approximate 8-9 mile track across Putnam county very near Georgia Highway 16. The tornado first touched down near Williard, west of Eatonton and continued on an east-southeastward track toward, lifting very near the Hancock county line. Much of the resulting damage occurred near Glenwood Springs Road. A restaurant and two other commercial buildings were completely destroyed on the southwest side of Eatonton. At least one person was injured from debris in this area. A number of trees were…

8. Jan 28, 2005Winter Storm, Putnam$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A significant and fairly prolonged winter storm/ice storm affected nearly all of North and Central Georgia from the evening of Friday January 28th to late morning on Sunday January 30th. The winter storm was a result of a very strong and very cold Arctic surface high pressure system located across the Mid-Atlantic states and an upper-level disturbance moving across the region from the west. North of a line from La Grange, to Thomaston, to Sandersville, the precipitation fell mostly as a mixture of sleet and freezing rain, with typical accumulations of one-half inch glaze ice and one to two inches of sleet. Some areas in North Central and Northeast Georgia experienced significant…

9. Mar 15, 2008Hail$130,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported golf ball-sized hail from the Eatonton area as yet another severe thunderstorm tracked across northern Putnam county. Radar supported that large hail fell across much of northwest, north central, and east central Putnam county.

10. Feb 18, 2009Hail$130,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Putnam County Emergency Management Director reported golf ball-sized hail in the Eatonton area. Several reports of golf ball-sized hail were received from the southwest to the northeast part of the county. Radar supported that hail of this size likely fell across in a swath from west to east near and just north of Georgia Highway 16.

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

109°FJul 12, 1930

All-time low

−7°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

86°FJul 7, 1990

Coldest day

16°FDec 26, 1983

Wettest day

8.20 inMar 5, 2025

Snowiest day

15.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1990mean 66.8°F

Coldest year

2010mean 59.9°F

Wettest year

202494.29 in

Driest year

195426.45 in

Station Monticello (USC00095988), 518 ft elevation, 20.9 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to June 30, 2026; 85.0% 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 USC00095988.
• 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.