Richmond County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Richmond 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. Sep 27, 2024Tropical Storm, Richmond$500 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Significant widespread tree and power line damage throughout the county resulting in widespread, extended power outages. Falling trees and wind caused substantial structural damage across the county. At least 1386 homes sustained some level of damage including 63 destroyed and 426 with major damage. Max winds at Augusta Bush Field were 45 knots sustained (52 mph) with a max gust of 71 knots (82 mph) before the site stopped reporting entirely. NWS storm survey estimated that maximum wind gusts were between 80 to 100+ mph. Six direct fatalities occurred due to trees falling on homes with another fatality due to a vehicle striking a downed tree in the roadway. Minimum mean sea level…

2. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A supercell tornado continued out of Columbia county and tracked across the Augusta area severely damaging many homes and business and taking down numerous trees and powerlines. One hundred and fifty people had to be evacuated from a nursing home that was damaged and there were around a dozen minor injuries.

3. Mar 7, 1996Thunderstorm Wind$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   An intense microburst caused $2 million in damage to 25 homes in Goeshen GA which is just south of Augusta. Nearly a thousand trees were damaged or destroyed, with 400 of those being on a golf course. The damaged area of homes was 1/4 by 1/2 mile in size.

4. Mar 7, 1996Flash Flood$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Training thunderstorms in the Augusta area send several streams over their banks and into homes. The flash flooding also closed several major highways which were under water. Rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches occurred in a six to nine hour period over southern Columbia and northern Richmond counties.

5. Jun 22, 2023Flash Flood$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Up to 4 ft of water covered roadways in downtown Augusta and the Olde Town area in the vicinity of E Boundary St, Laney Walker Blvd, Walton Way, and R A Dent Blvd. A dozen vehicles were flooded and abandoned including 2 water rescues. Three vehicles were flooded from water in the 1500 block of Forest St. Three more vehicles were flooded in the 1500 block of Gordon Hwy. Two homes were evacuated due to floodwaters in the vicinity of Melrose Dr and Formosa Dr. The 2200 block of Winston Way was flooded with 3-4 ft of water. A water rescue was performed at a residence in the 2500 block of Argonne Dr. Multiple homes were flooded with water and sewage along Abelia Dr and Melrose Dr.…

6. Jul 17, 2012Lightning$160,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Lightning struck the roof of SunBelt Auto Center in Augusta. The lightning rippled through the interior of the facility injuring a few people. Then the wind blew out the cracked windows. Ken Harris, the general manager, was blead out of his arm and a little bit on his head. Harris said he couldn't believe the devastation.

7. Feb 24, 2012Thunderstorm Wind$120,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   EM, Sheriff, and SKYWARN spotters reported numerous trees and powerlines down in the Augusta area. Several homes and vehicles had trees on them and 2 people were injured when a tree fell on them.

8. Apr 5, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$84,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Tree on home on Holden Street with 8 people inside and no injuries. Numerous trees and powerlines down in the area.

9. Aug 7, 2012Flash Flood$80,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sheriff reported water inside a personal care home on Division Street with several roads closed.

10. Apr 5, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$68,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Numerous trees and powerlines down from the Martin Town Road area to Hephzibah...some on homes.

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

108°F2 times, most recently Aug 10, 2007

All-time low

−1°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FJun 24, 1944

Coldest day

24°F2 times, most recently Dec 23, 1989

Wettest day

7.30 inSep 3, 1998

Snowiest day

8.0 in2 times, most recently Feb 12, 2010

Hottest year

2017mean 67.7°F

Coldest year

1981mean 61.4°F

Wettest year

196466.04 in

Driest year

201028.61 in

Snowiest season

14.4 in1972-73

Station Augusta Bush Field Airport (USW00003820), 134 ft elevation, 6.7 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1944 to October 26, 2026; 99.8% 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 USW00003820.
• 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.