Washington County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. Apr 13, 2020Tornado$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   This tornado began along News Bridge Road destroying a building before moving over more rural sections and snapping hundreds of trees consisting of both softwoods and |hardwoods. The tornado was remarkably consistent in its track, producing EF1 damage between 95 and 100 mph nearly the entire path. Dozens of homes were damaged with a few destroyed from trees falling on them. The tornado near HJ lane pick up two |vehicles including a truck and displaced them 100 yards. Shortly before the tornado lifted, it crossed into Jefferson county where additional tree damage occurred. [04/13/20: Tornado #21, County #1/2, EF-1, Washington, 2020:027].

2. May 11, 2008Tornado$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia, confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched down in north central Washington county, about four miles northeast of Sandersville, near the intersection of Georgia Highway 15 and Mayview Road. The tornado remained an EF0 as it tracked almost due eastward on a 33 mile long track through central Jefferson county and into far western Burke county before lifting. Within Washington county, the path length was approximately 11 miles with a maximum path width of 440 yards or 1/4 mile. Many structures sustained minor damage along the path of the tornado. A number of trees and several power lines…

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

   The Washington County Emergency Manager reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across the county. At least 2 homes were damaged when trees fell onto them. Radar estimated between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell across the county with 3.99 inches measured in Sandersville. No injuries were reported.

4. May 11, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that straight-line winds of 60 to 70 mph affected a one to two mile wide area south of an EF0 tornado that tracked across north central and east central Washington county. The strong winds caused moderate damage to several structures just north of Sandersville and Davisboro.

5. Sep 7, 2023Lightning$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Structure struck by lightning along the 900 block of Mathis Rd near Sandersville Ga. Structure was destroyed by resulting fire.

6. Jan 28, 2005Winter Storm, Washington$100,000
   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…

7. May 3, 2021Thunderstorm Wind$100,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Washington County Emergency Manager reported dozens of trees blown down east of Warthen in the vicinity of the intersection of S. Sparta Davisboro Road and Stephens Creek Road. Several buildings were damaged, roads and driveways were blocked and the roof was blown off of a cabin.

8. Sep 17, 2020Flash Flood$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Department of Transportation reported significant flooding impacts from high water conditions on Williamson Swamp Creek in Davisboro. Roughtly a dozen homes on State Route 231 were surrounded or inundated with water on the southwest side of town. The USGS river gauge reported a crest of 14.66 feet, less than half a foot from Major Flood Stage. Radar estimates indicate that 8 to 10 inches of rain quickly fell over the area, resulting in the rapidly evolving flooding.

9. May 20, 2008Tornado$75,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the EF0 tornado, that initially touched down just inside Hancock county just south of Barnes Road and just west of Georgia Highway 15, crossed into Washington county and tracked four to five miles, ending just west of Hamburg State Park Road. The tornado tracked very close to Sparta-Davisboro Road until the eastern part of its track. The maximum path width was estimated to be 125 yards with maximum winds of 90 to 100 mph within Washington county. The tornado tracked through a largely rural area. Between 200 and 300 trees were blown down along the path of the tornado and one…

10. Jan 21, 2017Tornado$60,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    A National Weather Service survey team found that a EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards began around the intersection of Sunhill Road and Sunhill Grange Road. The tornado moved northeast across mainly rural areas of eastern Washington County along and near Highway 24, ending northeast of Davisboro. Numerous trees were downed including dozens of pecan trees in a large commercial orchard. [01/21/17: Tornado #22, County #1/1, EF1, Washington, 2017:023].

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

112°FJul 24, 1952

All-time low

−2°FJan 21, 1985

Warmest night

82°FJul 5, 1943

Coldest day

25°FDec 25, 1983

Wettest day

16.42 inOct 12, 1990

Snowiest day

14.8 inFeb 10, 1973

Hottest year

1990mean 67.2°F

Coldest year

1901mean 61.9°F

Wettest year

199463.95 in

Driest year

195424.96 in

Station Louisville 1 E (USC00095314), 322 ft elevation, 22.5 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1893 to October 26, 2026; 87.5% 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 USC00095314.
• 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.