Schley County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Schley County: 2.
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.

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.

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 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.

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 3, 2017Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 105 MPH and a maximum path width of 200 yards touched down west of Ellaville near a small farm south of Chancey Drive. The tornado moved east snapping and uprooting trees along its path south of Chancey Drive into southern Ellaville. The tornado snapped and uprooted dozens of trees as it crossed Pinefield Drive and Ridgewood Drive where several homes were impacted. The tornado continued east crossing Ebenezer Road and travelling along Pine Circle snapping trees and causing roof damage to homes. The tornado crossed South Callaway Drive and Broad Street where a large metal building collapsed…

2. Nov 21, 1997Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A state of emergency was declared in Schley county where 103 people were displaced due to the storm. In Ellaville, 5 mobile homes were destroyed, 17 homes and 11 other mobile homes sustained minor to moderate damage, and 19 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. The EMA director reported 500 trees were downed and power outages occurred throughout the town.

3. Mar 15, 2009Tornado$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Marion County Emergency Management Director reported that the tornado, which began in eastern Marion county approximately two miles northwest of Putnam, continued on a two-mile east-northeastward track into extreme western Schley county. The tornado lifted approximately 2.1 miles northwest of Walls Crossing. The tornado continued to have a maximum path width in Schley county of 100 yards. Within Schley county, nearly 500 trees were either snapped or uprooted along the brief 1/2 mile long path. No structural damage was reported within Schley county.

4. May 2, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Schley county newspaper reported that a number of trees were split off or broken off. Some of these trees landed on and caused damage to the Supervised Probation Inc. office. Sixty-percent of the roof caved in. Consequently, the building also suffered some water damage.

5. Apr 5, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Schley County Sheriff's Office reported widespread downed trees and several power lines across the county. At least a dozen trees were down across the county. Three structures sustained damage from downed trees.

6. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Schley$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The news media reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across the county. No injuries were reported.

7. Sep 6, 2004High Wind, Schley$25,000
   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…

8. Sep 16, 2004Strong Wind, Schley$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   All of the events below are associated with winds that met "strong wind" criteria during Hurricane Ivan.Butts: The Jackson Progress Argus reported that several trees and power lines were blown down around the county. A large oak tree fell on First Street in Jackson demolishing three cars and causing damage to a fourth. The tree also punctured the roof of a home on the same street. Approximately 10 percent of the county was left without power. (Estimated Damage: $150,000)Catoosa: The Catoosa County News of Ringgold reported that several trees were blown down within the county. (Estimated Damage: $5,000)Crawford: The Georgia Post of Roberta reported that a few trees and power lines…

9. Jan 28, 2005Winter Storm, Schley$25,000
   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…

10. Jul 6, 2016Lightning$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    The Schley County Emergency Manager reported an abandoned house off of Highway 240 East at Blan Wall Road was struck by lightning and burned to the ground.

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°FAug 19, 2000

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

78°FJul 14, 1980

Coldest day

23°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1985

Wettest day

7.82 inMar 28, 2005

Snowiest day

8.0 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

2019mean 66.8°F

Coldest year

1976mean 62.6°F

Wettest year

196470.58 in

Driest year

201233.26 in

Snowiest season

8.0 in1972-73

Station Plains Sw Ga Experiment Station (USC00097087), 500 ft elevation, 14.0 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1956 to October 5, 2026; 86.1% 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 USC00097087.
• 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.