Towns County, Georgia

What hazards hit Towns County most?

The most frequent records are winter storm records: 80 since 1996. 70% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. 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.

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 Towns County had?

NOAA records 1 tornado in Towns County from 1997 to 1997, the strongest rated F1, with 0 deaths and 0 injuries 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 1 tornado whose track touched Towns County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 1, the same count); along their whole tracks they killed 0 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Georgia.

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 Towns County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the November 11, 2016 wildfire ($1.1 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

On November 11th a human caused wildfire erupted along the border between Towns and Rabun Counties. Before the Rocky Mountain wildfire was declared contained on December 15th it had consumed 1,851 acres in the eastern portion of Towns County. In total, this wildfire burned nearly 25,000 acres of Chattahoochee National Forest and state and private forest land in Georgia and Tennessee. More tham $11 million federal dollars was expended fighting this wildfire, nearly $900,000 in Towns County alone.
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 662979)

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

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 Towns 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).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

70% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for Towns County

FEMA's register lists 14 declarations that include Towns County: 7 major disasters, 7 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (6) and biological (2).

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 Towns County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 7 flood or flash flood records for Towns County from 2003 to 2018, on 7 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), Towns County ranks 1887th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $241,000 on 31 claims filed in Towns County; the most in one year was 8 in 2018. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

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 Towns County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates Towns County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $7.8 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.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with Towns County

1. White County 442
2. Habersham County 440
3. Rabun County 426
4. Union County 363
5. Towns County 247
6. Clay County, NC 161

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
• Winter storms in GeorgiaThe state's winter storm records, 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 Towns CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download Towns County's FEMA declarations (CSV)14 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis