Terrell County, Georgia
County storm and disaster record · FIPS 13273 · population 9,136 · 336 sq mi
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 219 records for Terrell County, Georgia from 1950 through June 30, 2026, on 180 days; the most frequent are severe thunderstorm wind events (118 records). The most damaging was the March 8, 1998 flood ($18.1 million in 2025 dollars). FEMA has issued 10 declarations naming the county since 1994, 8 of them for natural hazards; the latest for a natural hazard was “Hurricane Helene” on September 26, 2024.
The record, 1950 to 2026
Storm records filed for the county each year (2026 to June 30, 2026). Before 1996 NOAA recorded only tornadoes (from 1950), thunderstorm wind and hail (from 1955).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $100,000
- $100,000 or more
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more, or a death
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- 1955: wind and hail recorded from 1955
- 1996: all 48 event types from 1996
- Storm records
- 219on 180 days, 1950 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths recorded
- 01 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $178Mas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Tornadoes
- 10strongest F2
- FEMA declarations
- 10latest 2024
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026 (file revision 20260918); damage converted to 2025 dollars with the BLS CPI-U. Search the record at NCEI. BLS consumer price index.
What hazards hit Terrell County most?
The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 118 since 1958. 41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Georgia's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.
| Hazard | Records | Days | First, last | Killed | Injured | Damage | Rank in state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 118 | 91 | 1958-2026 | 0 | 0 | $874K | 97 of 159 |
| Drought | 41 | 41 | 1997-2026 | 0 | 0 | – | 56 of 159 |
| Hail | 18 | 14 | 1987-2023 | 0 | 0 | $6.7M | 147 of 159 |
| Floods | 10 | 9 | 1998-2025 | 0 | 0 | $19M | 104 of 159 |
| Tornadoes | 10 | 10 | 1954-2021 | 0 | 1 | $4.1M | 103 of 159 |
| Hurricanes and tropical storms | 7 | 7 | 1998-2024 | 0 | 0 | $138M | 133 of 159 |
| Winter storms | 6 | 6 | 2010-2026 | 0 | 0 | $128K | 106 of 159 |
| Extreme cold | 3 | 3 | 2017-2026 | 0 | 0 | $9.5M | 116 of 159 |
| Heat | 3 | 3 | 2023-2023 | 0 | 0 | – | 125 of 159 |
| Fog, smoke and funnel clouds | 2 | 2 | 2006-2019 | 0 | 0 | – | 90 of 159 |
| High wind and dust storms | 1 | 1 | 2008-2008 | 0 | 0 | $82K | 132 of 159 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.
How many tornadoes has Terrell County had?
NOAA records 10 tornadoes in Terrell County from 1954 to 2021, the strongest rated F2, with 0 deaths and 1 injury recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.
Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 11 tornadoes whose track touched Terrell County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 10: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 1 person, 0 of them in Terrell County.
| Date | Tornado | Rating | Path | Killed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963-01-20 16:00, as SPC files it | Fort Gaines to Dawson | F1 | 70.2 mi | 1 |
Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Georgia.
Every tornado record filed for Terrell County (10)
| Date | Place | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-04-24 | Doverel, Terrell County | EF1 0.93 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2021-03-18 | Chickasawhatchee, Terrell County | EF1 3.99 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $22K |
| 2016-02-24 | Clarks Mill, Terrell County | EF1 5.09 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2009-04-10 | Chambliss, Terrell County | EF1 0.6 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $413K |
| 1990-05-21 | Terrell County | F1 1 mi x 73 yd | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1984-05-03 | Terrell County | F1 4 mi x 80 yd | 0 | 1 | $250K step |
| 1973-12-31 | Terrell County | F1 | 0 | 0 | $250K step |
| 1972-01-11 | Terrell County | F1 0.3 mi x 50 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1964-04-27 | Terrell County | F0 1.5 mi x 67 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
| 1954-12-05 | Terrell County | F2 2.7 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $25K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.
When was the last damaging storm in Terrell County?
The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the April 26, 2023 hail ($6.7 million in damage in 2025 dollars).
Significant amounts of hail at least quarter sized fell across a large swath of farmland in rural Terrell county. Reports on social media indicated that some farmers lost a significant amount of corn crops and blueberry crops with some total losses reported. Crop damage cost was estimated using $6000 per acre for blueberries and $882 per acre for corn and estimating that about 1000 acres was affected.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1092143)
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-25 | Thunderstorm WindDawson, Terrell County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-24 | Thunderstorm WindGraves, Terrell County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-22 | Thunderstorm WindSasser, Terrell County | 50 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-05-01 | DroughtTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-01 | DroughtTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-03-12 | Thunderstorm WindDawson, Terrell County | 55 kt wind | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2026-03-01 | DroughtTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | DroughtTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-01 | Extreme Cold/Wind ChillTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-18 | Heavy SnowTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-13 | DroughtTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2025-12-01 | DroughtTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.
The deadliest and costliest records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-05-03 | TornadoTerrell County | F1 4 mi x 80 yd | 0 | 1 | $250K step |
A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-03-08 | FloodTerrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | $18M | |
| 2023-04-26 | HailGraves, Terrell County | 1.00 in hail | 0 | 0 | $6.7M |
| 2005-07-11 | Flash FloodCountywide, Terrell County | 0 | 0 | $453K | |
| 2009-04-10 | TornadoChambliss, Terrell County | EF1 0.6 mi x 100 yd | 0 | 0 | $413K |
| 2005-07-09 | Hurricane (Typhoon)Terrell County · forecast zone Terrell | 0 | 0 | $378K | |
| 2021-03-18 | TornadoChickasawhatchee, Terrell County | EF1 3.99 mi x 200 yd | 0 | 0 | $22K |
| 2019-02-12 | Thunderstorm WindDawson, Terrell County | 78 kt wind | 0 | 0 | $12K |
Before 1993 NOAA filed damage by category, not amount, so the list above starts in 1993. The highest category filed here before then (entered as $250K, in the dollars of the day) holds: May 3, 1984 (tornado, Terrell County); December 31, 1973 (tornado, Terrell County); May 21, 1990 (tornado, Terrell County).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.
Is it getting more frequent?
Records per decade for Terrell County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).
| Hazard | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm wind | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 15 | 48 | 26 |
| Drought | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 | 31 | 9 |
| Hail | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| Floods | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Tornadoes | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).
What time of year?
41% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1958 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.
The values, month by month
Jan 22 · Feb 12 · Mar 19 · Apr 24 · May 22 · Jun 31 · Jul 31 · Aug 22 · Sep 7 · Oct 7 · Nov 9 · Dec 13 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
Federal disaster declarations for Terrell County
FEMA's register lists 10 declarations that include Terrell County: 5 major disasters, 5 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (5) and biological (2).
| Declared | Number | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-09-26 | EM-3616 | Tropical Storm | Hurricane Helene |
| 2020-03-29 | DR-4501 | Biological | Covid-19 Pandemic |
| 2020-03-13 | EM-3464 | Biological | Covid-19 |
| 2018-10-14 | DR-4400 | Hurricane | Hurricane Michael |
| 2018-10-10 | EM-3406 | Hurricane | Hurricane Michael |
| 2017-09-15 | DR-4338 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma |
| 2017-09-08 | EM-3387 | Hurricane | Hurricane Irma |
| 2005-09-05 | EM-3218 | Hurricane | Hurricane Katrina Evacuation |
| 1998-03-11 | DR-1209 | Severe Storm | Severe Storms and Flooding |
| 1994-07-07 | DR-1033 | Tornado | Tornadoes, Flooding Torrential Rain(Trop Storm Alberto) |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.
How many floods has Terrell County had?
NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 10 flood or flash flood records for Terrell County from 1998 to 2025, on 9 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Terrell County ranks 2523rd of 2,942 U.S. counties.
| Storm | Began | Records | Deaths in the county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Michael | 2018-10-10 | 1 | 0 |
| Hurricane Irma | 2017-09-10 | 1 | 0 |
The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $58,000 on 6 claims filed in Terrell County; the most in one year was 2 in 1998. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.
The values, year by year
1998: 2 · 2012: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2020: 1; the other years: 0.
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.
FEMA's modeled risk for Terrell County
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Terrell County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $4.7 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.
| Hazard | Risk rating | Expected annual loss | Modeled frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drought | Relatively Moderate | $878K | 52 modeled event-days a year |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | $590K | once in about 7 years (modeled) |
| Hail | Relatively Low | $199K | 1.8 a year (modeled) |
| Tornado | Relatively Low | $920K | once in about 4 years (modeled) |
| Lightning | Relatively Low | $125K | 70 a year (modeled) |
| Cold Wave | Relatively Low | $494K | 2.2 a year (modeled) |
| Wildfire | Very Low | $21K | once in about 1,866 years (modeled) |
| Earthquake | Very Low | $114K | once in about 752 years (modeled) |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.
Counties that share a border with Terrell County
Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.
Next
- Tornadoes in GeorgiaEvery Georgia tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
- Severe thunderstorm wind in GeorgiaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
- The Georgia recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
- FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in Terrell CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
- Download Terrell County's FEMA declarations (CSV)10 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis