PlainHazard

Georgia extreme cold

Every recorded extreme cold record since 1996 · 144 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,561 extreme cold records in Georgia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 99 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 7, 1996 cold/wind chill in Hart County: 1 death. Georgia ranks 15th of 51 states and territories by count and 18th of 50 per square mile.

Extreme cold in Georgia, 1996 to 2026

Cold records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,5611996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
99average
Deaths
10 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$242Mas filed
Busiest year
2000394 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are extreme cold records common in Georgia?

Georgia averages about 99 extreme cold records a year since 2000, 15th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2000 (394). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Georgia records 270 extreme cold records since 1996, 18th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Maryland 1039
  2. 2. New Jersey 901
  3. 3. West Virginia 808
  4. 4. Vermont 703
  5. 5. New York 602
  6. 6. Kentucky 578
  7. 7. Delaware 565
  8. 8. Minnesota 532
  9. 9. Iowa 492
  10. 10. Illinois 483
  11. 18. Georgia 270

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Georgia have the most extreme cold records?

Per square mile, Clarke County leads Georgia: 15 days with a extreme cold record since 1996, 125.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Jackson County has the most cold records (43 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Clarke County 125.7 (15)
  2. Rockdale County 107.8 (14)
  3. Clayton County 98.8 (14)
  4. Glascock County 97.4 (14)
  5. Peach County 93.2 (14)
  6. Towns County 90.1 (15)
  7. Barrow County 86.9 (14)
  8. Catoosa County 86.3 (14)
  9. Schley County 83.9 (14)
  10. Dade County 80.4 (14)
  11. Muscogee County 78.5 (17)
  12. Lamar County 76.3 (14)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is the cold season in Georgia?

Georgia's extreme cold records by month. The busiest month is February (258 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 244 · Feb 258 · Mar 138 · Apr 226 · May 97 · Jun 191 · Jul 1 · Aug 1 · Sep 97 · Oct 194 · Nov 3 · Dec 111 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

What were the deadliest extreme cold records in Georgia?

Georgia: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
1996-01-07 Cold/Wind ChillHart County · forecast zone Hart A man died of hypothermia after the car in which he was a passenger went into the water near Hartwell Dam. He escaped the car and walked, apparently to seek help, toward the Ranger station. He was found later. It is not clear how the car ended up in the water. His companion, the driver, drowned. The water twmperature ... 1 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.

The costliest extreme cold records in Georgia

Georgia: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2007-04-07 Frost/FreezeBleckley County and Dodge County · forecast zone Bleckley One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $221M
2017-03-16 Frost/FreezeQuitman County · forecast zone Quitman One storm episode: 26 records in 26 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $9.5M
2007-04-07 Frost/FreezeAppling County · forecast zone Appling 0 0 $7.1M
2007-04-08 Frost/FreezeHabersham County · forecast zone Habersham One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. 0 0 $5.0M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are extreme cold records becoming more frequent in Georgia?

Georgia's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Extreme cold: Georgia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeGeorgiaUnited StatesGeorgia's share
1996-992275,5394.1%
2000s1,20114,7928.1%
2010s4718,1620.3%
2020-268615,3290.6%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent extreme cold records in Georgia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillHart County · forecast zone Hart 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillStephens County · forecast zone Stephens 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillHabersham County · forecast zone Habersham 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillFranklin County · forecast zone Franklin 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Cold/Wind ChillElbert County · forecast zone Elbert 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillRabun County · forecast zone Rabun 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillTattnall County · forecast zone Tattnall 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillScreven County · forecast zone Screven 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillMcIntosh County · forecast zone Coastal McIntosh 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillLiberty County · forecast zone Inland Liberty 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillJenkins County · forecast zone Jenkins 0 0 –
2026-02-01 Extreme Cold/Wind ChillEvans County · forecast zone Evans 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for extreme cold records in Georgia

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Georgia for extreme cold, counting its incident type and declarations that name freez in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); one was a major disaster, the latest on June 2, 1977.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1977-06-02DR-536Shrimp Loss Due to Cold Weather6

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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