Stewart County

Every recorded tornado

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

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.

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.

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. Mar 1, 2007Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia concluded that an EF1 tornado touched down just southwest of Richland in northeast Stewart county, traveled across the downtown area of Richland and lifted approximately one mile northeast of Richland. The tornado traveled a path of approximately 1.5 miles with a maximum path width of 250 yards. Around 50 homes and businesses sustained damage in the city of Richland. One commercial building at the intersection of Broad and Harris streets was destroyed when the exterior brick wall collapsed. The Harmony Baptist Church on Harmony and Ponder Streets, built in 1838, was also destroyed. Only two walls…

2. Mar 3, 2019Tornado$400,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey found that an EF2 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 125 mph and a maximum path width of 860 yards moved into Stewart County from Quitman County along Bladen Creek west of Bethel Church Road. The tornado crossed mainly forested areas with numerous large trees snapped or uprooted. The tornado moved east crossing Foreman Branch and Hodchodkee Creek before reaching Wesley Chapel Road, downing numerous trees along its path. As the tornado approached the intersection of John Logan Road and Philadelphia Road, it reached EF2 intensity destroying multiple large metal-framed barns and moving several large pieces of farming equipment, including a cotton…

3. Apr 3, 2017Tornado$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF-0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 85 MPH and a maximum path width of 150 yards occurred in central Stewart County. The tornado touched down along Green Grove Road southwest of the town of Lumpkin snapping a few trees west of the Bell Sister Road intersection. The tornado travelled east southeast hitting Steward County High School. Several trees were snapped at the front of the school and roofing material was torn off and spread several hundred yards east of the school. Water damage inside the school resulted From the loss of the roofing material, primarily on the east side of the school. Bleachers on an adjacent baseball…

4. Jan 2, 2017Tornado$60,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Stewart County Emergency Manager along with state Emergency Management officials found a path of damage associated with a brief EF-1 tornado in far southern Stewart County using ground and aerial surveys. The tornado touched down south of Sardis Road destroying a good portion of 2 commercial chicken houses off of Freeman Road. The Tornado traveled just over a half mile to the northeast toppling a large irrigation sprinkler system and snapping or uprooting several large trees before lifting just south of Sardis Road. Maximum wind speed was estimated at 95 MPH and the maximum path width was 200 yards. [01/02/17: Tornado #1, County #1/1, EF1, Stewart, 2017:001].

5. Apr 5, 2017Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF2 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 120 MPH and a maximum path width of 1320 yards touched down |near the Randolph-Stewart County line along US Highway 27 and quickly moved northeast into Stewart County. The tornado touched down in extreme northwest Randolph County at EF1 strength. The tornado then traveled across southeast Stewart County snapping or uprooting trees. About 5 miles west of Weston, but still in Stewart County, EF2 damage occurred from County Road 91 across County Road 148 to the Freeman Extension south of Goodwins Pond Road. A number of trees were uprooted while most were snapped at the trunk, including trunks…

6. Mar 27, 2005Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Stewart County Emergency Management Director reported that a thunderstorm microburst tore the roof off the county's Health Department building and damaged an outdoor storage bin at the Emergency Management Director's facility. In addition, some 40 to 50 trees within the same general small area were blown down, uprooted, or torn apart by the strong winds.

7. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Stewart$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The news media reported numerous trees and power lines blown across the county. Many customers were without electricity for varying periods of time. Radar estimated between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell across the county with 2.35 inches measured in Union. No injuries were reported.

8. Jan 28, 2005Winter Storm, Stewart$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…

9. Sep 29, 1998Flash Flood$25,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The remnants of Hurricane Georges dumped 5+ inches of rain across the two counties. Numerous roads were covered with water and many roads were impassable and closed.

10. Nov 23, 2014Tornado$25,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A NWS storm survey team found that an EF-1 tornado, with maximum wind speeds of 110 MPH, crossed the Chattahoochee River from Barbour County, Alabama into southwest Stewart County, Georgia southwest of the community of Coffington. The tornado tracked northeast for nearly 14 miles before lifting near the community of Julia along State Highway 39. The tornado mainly caused damage to trees with numerous hardwood and softwood trees either snapped or uprooted. [11/23/14: Tornado #1, County #1-1, EF1, Stewart, 2014:018].

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

106°FJun 30, 2012

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FAug 2, 1999

Coldest day

23°FJan 21, 1985

Wettest day

5.92 inApr 19, 2020

Snowiest day

11.0 inFeb 9, 1973

Hottest year

2019mean 68.6°F

Coldest year

1968mean 62.8°F

Wettest year

200980.20 in

Driest year

199926.39 in

Snowiest season

14.0 in1972-73

Station Columbus Metro Airport (USW00093842), 394 ft elevation, 32.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1948 to October 26, 2026; 99.9% 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 USW00093842.
• 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.