Telfair County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Apr 5, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Telfair County Emergency Management Director reported that several trees and power lines were down across the county. However, much of the damage occurred in the Lumber City area in the far southeastern part of the county. Here, one unit of the Village Square Apartments was destroyed and three other units sustained minor to moderate damage.

2. Sep 6, 2004High Wind, Telfair$200,000
   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…

3. Sep 11, 2017Tropical Storm, Telfair$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The news media reported extensive damage across the county with numerous trees and power lines blown down. A fire station was reported to be damaged in the southern part of the county. Much of the county was without electricity for varying period of time. Radar estimated between 2 and 4.5 inches of rain fell across the county with 4.3 inches measure near Scotland. No injuries were reported.

4. Mar 27, 2005Flash Flood$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Telfair Enterprise reported that early morning heavy rain, on the order of four inches or more, resulted in damage to several county roads. County Road 13 and County Road 106, between McRae and Milan were washed out and would require extensive repair. A pair of large sinkholes had developed on County Road 13 from the pressure of the extensive runoff. Drainage pipes were washed out from the under the roads and swept quite some distance away from their original location.

5. Jan 2, 2017Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Telfair County Emergency Manager reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across the northern end of the county. A house at the intersection of Highway 280 and Bethel Church Road had shingles blown off of the roof and a shed destroyed. In the Whatley vineyard area, around the intersection of Highway 341 and Whatley Farm Road, 20-25 trees were uprooted or snapped.

6. Mar 3, 2019Tornado$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey found that an EF0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 80 mph and a maximum path width of 150 yards occurred in Telfair County. The tornado touched down near the town of Workmore around the intersection of Workmore Milan Road and Macedonia Church Road where a porch was torn off of a home and tossed around 100 yards. Minor roof damage occurred to the home and a power pole was snapped nearby. The tornado travelled north northeast along Macedonia Church Road snapping or uprooting over a dozen trees before dissipating near the intersection with Big Horse Creek Road. No injuries were reported. [03/03/19: Tornado #5, County #1/1, EF0, Telfair, 2019:010].

7. Feb 6, 2020Thunderstorm Wind$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Telfair County Emergency Manager reported trees and power lines blown down in the Jacksonville area. One tree fell onto a house on East River Road causing moderate damage to the home, no injuries were reported.

8. Apr 9, 1998Lightning$50,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Fire started by lightning destroyed a restored 1800s vintage home.

9. May 11, 2003Thunderstorm Wind$45,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Telfair county Emergency Management Director reported that some trees had been blown down. The Telfair Enterprise of McRae reported that one vehicle was destroyed when it was crushed by a tree that fell during the storm. In McRae, the Glory Bound Baptist Church suffered extensive damage when two large pine trees fell through the roof of the church. All together there were seven holes in the roof of the church which occurred when the large pine trees fell on the roof.

10. Mar 3, 2019Tornado$30,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A National Weather Service survey found that an EF0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 85 mph and a maximum path width of 100 yards occurred in Telfair County. The tornado touched down on the west side of Big Horse Creek Road northwest of the intersection with East River Road and travelled a short distance east, across Big Horse Creek Road, before dissipating. In this area, a chicken house was lifted and thrown 50 feet onto a shed and several trees were snapped or uprooted. No injuries were reported. [03/03/19: Tornado #6, County #1/1, EF0, Telfair, 2019:011].

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

110°FJun 28, 1954

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

81°FJun 27, 1952

Coldest day

20°FDec 24, 1989

Wettest day

7.50 inOct 4, 2026

Snowiest day

3.5 inFeb 26, 1914

Hottest year

1911mean 69.3°F

Coldest year

1958mean 63.1°F

Wettest year

194765.57 in

Driest year

195426.41 in

Station Eastman 1 W (USC00092966), 400 ft elevation, 22.1 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1891 to October 26, 2026; 96.8% 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 USC00092966.
• 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.