Rabun County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Rabun County: 1.
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 27, 2011Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The path of an intense tornado, which was likely the continuation of the Habersham County tornado, was found in Rabun County beginning in the Lake Burton area. Damage was first found near a marina on Wildcat Creek Cove. A fire department building near this location was destroyed. As the tornado moved northeast across Moccasin Creek, it intensified and widened to around one half mile. Several large lake homes were completely destroyed in this area. Another home slid off its foundation into the lake. The tornado continued northeast across the Moccasin Creek peninsula and over the main channel of Lake Burton. Severe damage was observed again along the north shore of Timpson Cove,…

2. Sep 16, 2004Flood, Rabun$4.6 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   After isolated flash flooding developed earlier in the evening, persistent moderate to heavy rainfall led to a gradual expansion of general flooding across extreme northeast Georgia. By far the hardest hit area was Rabun County, where numerous streams flooded severely, including Toccoa Falls and Worley Creeks, and the Tallulah River. Numerous homes, businesses, and several apartment buildings were damaged by flood water. Another home was destroyed by a mudslide. Many roads and bridges were washed out or otherwise damaged across the area, including highways 15 and 76 in Rabun County, and Yonah Dam Rd in Stephens County, which was washed out to a depth of 30 feet in one section.…

3. Sep 7, 2004Flood, Rabun$850,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Flooding associated with Frances was more severe across the mountains, where numerous roads and bridges were washed out. In Rabun County, the Joy Bridge Rd bridge was washed out. Buttermilk Ln in the Sky Valley community caved in against a house.

4. May 15, 2010Lightning$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck a 7000-square foot lodge on Tuts Mountain Rd, destroying the structure.

5. Dec 4, 2002Ice Storm, Rabun$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Freezing rain began over extreme northeast Georgia around noon on the 4th, and resultant tree and power line damage began during the mid afternoon. By dawn on the 5th, 1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice had accumulated. Power outages lasted for several days in some areas.

6. Apr 16, 2007High Wind, Rabun$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After an intense, but relatively brief high wind event affected the mountains and foothills on the evening of the 15th, another widespread damaging high wind event developed during the day of the 16th. Thousands of trees fell across the area, resulting in widespread power outages. Numerous trees fell on roads, homes, and vehicles.

7. Sep 16, 2004High Wind, Rabun$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   High winds developed across the mountains and foothills of northeast Georgia during the evening, as the remnants of Hurricane Ivan moved just west of the area. Widespread tree damage occurred, and many trees fell on structures and vehicles.

8. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Rabun$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hundreds of trees were blown down, with dozens of trees down on homes, vehicles, and power lines. Frequent gusts up to 60 mph occurred, with occasional gusts of 70 mph.

9. Sep 17, 2004Debris Flow, Rabun$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   After isolated flash flooding developed earlier in the evening, persistent moderate to heavy rainfall led to a gradual expansion of general flooding across extreme northeast Georgia. By far the hardest hit area was Rabun County, where numerous streams flooded severely, including Toccoa Falls and Worley Creeks, and the Tallulah River. Numerous homes, businesses, and several apartment buildings were damaged by flood water. Another home was destroyed by a mudslide. Many roads and bridges were washed out or otherwise damaged across the area, including highways 15 and 76 in Rabun County, and Yonah Dam Rd in Stephens County, which was washed out to a depth of 30 feet in one section.…

10. Dec 13, 2002High Wind, Rabun$75,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Damaging winds were produced by a gravity wave as it propagated across northeast Georgia during the mid morning. In Royston, a mobile home was reportedly blown over. Numerous trees and power lines were downed. Some trees fell on structures.

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

99°F3 times, most recently Jul 2, 2012

All-time low

−18°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

72°FJul 23, 2026

Coldest day

9°FJan 11, 1982

Wettest day

8.05 inSep 29, 1964

Snowiest day

25.5 inMar 13, 1993

Hottest year

2019mean 58.7°F

Coldest year

1968mean 52.7°F

Wettest year

202098.45 in

Driest year

200047.60 in

Snowiest season

29.3 in1992-93

Station Coweeta Experiment Station (USC00312102), 2,247 ft elevation, 12.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1942 to August 31, 2026; 93.8% 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 USC00312102.
• 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.