Wilcox County

Every recorded tornado

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

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. May 23, 2017Tornado$500,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 MPH and a maximum path width of 50 yards began in a pecan orchard south of Bowen Road and east of Worley Road where it quickly intensified with wind speeds of 100 mph. At least 100 pecan trees were snapped and shredded along a narrow, 30 yard wide, path with no damage on either side. The tornado traveled east-northeast and weakened slightly snapping several more trees. A 400ft section of a large chicken house was destroyed west of Highway 159 and a few more trees were blown down before the tornado lifted just east of the intersection of Bowen Road and Highway 159. No injuries were…

2. Jan 22, 2017Tornado$300,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A National Weather Service survey team found that the large tornado that moved across Dougherty and Turner Counties moved into Wilcox County crossing County Line Road just west of Shady Lane. Damage was seen off Double Run Road and County Road 41 where a small farm building was completely destroyed. Windows were broken at two residences and several small trees were uprooted. Just northeast, significant damage occurred along Crawford Dairy Road between July Road and Loblolly Road. A metal structure was significantly damaged with the several anchored metal trusses completely pulled off the concrete foundation, resulting in a total collapse of the building. Additional farm…

3. Oct 9, 2008Thunderstorm Wind$250,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Wilcox County Emergency Management Director reported that thunderstorm winds resulted in damage to several chicken houses. The roof was blown off nine chicken homes and five others were left leaning slightly.

4. Apr 10, 2009Tornado$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   Data gathered from the Wilcox County Emergency Management Director and from a damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia concluded that the EF1 tornado that began in the Cobb community of far southeast Sumter county and tracked east-southeast across Crisp county, continued into far southwest and south central Wilcox county before lifting. The total path length of the tornado was around 33 miles. Damage was sporadic along the path of the tornado. The tornado tracked approximately 12 miles within Wilcox county and remained as a weaker EF0 tornado with a maximum path width of 100 yards and maximum winds of 80 mph. Within Wilcox…

5. Apr 5, 2011Thunderstorm Wind$200,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Wilcox County Emergency Management Director reported that one home sustained minor damage from downed trees and thunderstorm wind, while another sustained minor damage.

6. Jul 20, 2000Lightning$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Ben Hill Herald-Leader reported that a lightning strike started a fire at a logging operation on Pineview Road which destroyed a fuel trailer with two tanks, an equipment trailer, and a log truck.

7. Mar 27, 2005Flash Flood$150,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The public reported that extensive flash flooding was ongoing, mainly in the western portion of the county. Several roads were washed out. A number of people were trapped in their homes by rising flood waters and others were trapped in their cars with water rising up to the hood level. Four to six inches of rain fell across the northwest part of the county, mainly northwest of Rochelle. Much of this information was confirmed by the county 911 Center.

8. Dec 28, 2005Tornado$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Wilcox County 911 Center reported, and which was later confirmed by the Wilcox County Emergency Management Director, that an F0 tornado had touched down north-northwest of Pitts and traveled east-northeast across for approximately 2.5 miles. The path width was 50 yards. The tornado crossed Georgia Highway 215, but traveled mostly through rural areas. One home near Georgia Highway 215 sustained major damage and the roof was lifted off an industrial building. Some peanut trailers were tossed into a pond. At least three vehicles were damaged as a result of downed trees.

9. Jun 21, 2001Lightning$125,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The Abbeville NWS cooperative observer reported that lightning struck a home on U.S. Highway 129 near the Pulaski county line. The home was completely destroyed by the ensuing fire.

10. Sep 6, 2004High Wind, Wilcox$100,000
    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…

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, 19.6 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.