Sumter County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Sumter County: 3.
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.

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.

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$110 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia concluded that the EF3 tornado that first touched down in southeast Webster county continued to track northeast from the southwest to the northeast corner of Sumter county and then continued into extreme southern Macon county before finally lifting. The tornado tracked a total distance on the ground of approximately 40 miles. The tornado entered Sumter county about 4.75 miles southwest of Plains in southwest Sumter county and exited the northeast part of the county about 9 miles north of Methvins in northeast Sumter county. This was by far the most violent and devastating tornado of the March 1st…

2. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$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 a third EF1 tornado touched down in Sumter county. This was a long-lived tornado and tracked across three counties, Sumter, Crisp, and Wilcox, for an approximate path length of 33 miles. This tornado touched down in far southeast Sumter county in the Cobb community and crossed Lake Blackshear into Crisp county about three miles east-southeast of Cobb. The tornado was determined to have a maximum path width of 200 yards with maximum winds estimated at 100 mph. Within Sumter county, one home was destroyed and 45 suffered minor to moderate damage. The damage was…

3. Mar 27, 2005Flash Flood$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   An amateur radio operator reported that extensive flooding was ongoing across the county. Several roads were washed out in the southern portion of the county and within the city of Americus. This occurred as early as 11:00 am EST. Later in the day, around 4:00 pm EST, the County 911 Center reported that many roads throughout the county had been closed. In addition, several small dams had been breached causing additional flash flood concerns and precautionary evacuations. Some cars became flooded and had to be abanonded. Several homes and apartments were flooded. Up to three feet of water was reported in some homes. By late evening, 16 roads in the county had been closed because of…

4. Dec 16, 2000Tornado$310,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service disaster survey team reported that an F2 tornado first touched down at 9:30 pm EST 6 miles southeast of Americus, Georgia, on Henry Hart Road, midway between Georgia Highway 377 and U. S. Highway 280. The tornado then moved northeast at approximately 45 mph lifting 1 mile east of the Flint river at Georgia Highway 27 and Joe Stewart Road around 9:42 pm EST. The tornado cut a path up to 100 yards wide and traveled on the ground about 10 miles or 12 minutes. Although the tornado traveled through mainly rural areas, significant damage was reported. A wooden frame house was completely destroyed near the tornado's touchdown point on Henry Hart Road, while…

5. Sep 6, 2004High Wind, Sumter$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…

6. Mar 28, 2009Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Sumter County Emergency Management Director considerable damage near the Americus Wal Mart at the corner of U.S. Highway 280 and Feldar Street. In addition to many trees and power lines down in the area, considerable damage was noted to several buildings and property in the general area. A Goodwill drop off box was turned over as well as several truck bed covers which were blown over and about. To the southeast of Americus, several trees and power lines were down along Brady Road. Part of the roof was blown of the Textron building and a wall of the same building collapsed. Another building at Caravel Boats also sustained roof damage. The liners of three trucks at a nearby Ford…

7. Sep 29, 1998Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Low topped convection caused an apparent tornado in the Railroad Street area of DeSoto. Newspaper reports and sight survey by an NWS employee indicated at least 1 permanent structure home and 7 mobile homes were destroyed. Other homes were damaged by some of the hundreds of trees that fell. Several businesses were also damaged.

8. Aug 17, 2021Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind Speeds of 95 mph and a maximum path width of 325 yards touched down in a residential area on the northeast side of Americus. Damage began along Pineview Drive, just south of Fire Station #3, where a few smaller trees were snapped or uprooted and a few shingles were pulled off of a house. The tornado rapidly strengthened as it moved north northwest crossing Crawford Street (Highway 49) and moved along Wanda Way and Sharon Drive with numerous medium-sized trees either uprooted or snapped. As the tornado continued northwest, significant damage to trees occurred between Sharon Circle and Pine Avenue. In this…

9. Sep 29, 1998Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Sight survey by an NWS employee and a newspaper report indicated a permanent structure home and several mobile or modular homes were destroyed in the Ferguson Road area. Debris was scattered several hundred feet.

10. Mar 27, 2011Hail$182,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    Several reports of large damaging hail, ranging in size from golf balls to baseballs, were received from the public and the Sumter County 911 Center from across the county. While the hail initially began as quarter-sized hail is it entered the northwestern part of the county north of Plains, it grew to golf ball and baseball size as it moved across Americus.

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, 8.8 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.