Georgia winter storms

Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 159 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 3,362 winter storm records in Georgia from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 126 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the January 28, 2014 winter storm: 4 deaths across 4 records. Georgia ranks 35th of 51 states and territories by count and 35th of 50 per square mile.

Winter storms in Georgia, 1996 to 2026

Winter storm 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: 3,3621996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000: 126average
Deaths: 1365 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars: $34Mas filed
Busiest year: 2010377 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 winter storm records common in Georgia?

Georgia averages about 126 winter storm records a year since 2000, 35th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (377). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Georgia records 582 winter storm records since 1996, 35th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

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 winter storm records?

Per square mile, Towns County leads Georgia: 77 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 462.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Rabun County has the most winter storm records (110 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).

Towns County 462.5 (80)
Dawson County 322.5 (69)
Stephens County 318.7 (62)
Dade County 316.0 (59)
White County 311.5 (78)
Catoosa County 296.0 (50)
Rabun County 286.4 (110)
Pickens County 284.4 (68)
Clarke County 276.6 (33)
Lumpkin County 261.5 (77)
Habersham County 260.1 (75)
Union County 251.5 (85)

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 winter storm season in Georgia?

78% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in January and February. The busiest month is January (1,734 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 1,734 · Feb 872 · Mar 171 · Apr 18 · May 0 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 0 · Oct 0 · Nov 36 · Dec 531 (records).

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

What were the deadliest winter storm records in Georgia?

Georgia: the storms with the most deaths since 1996
Date	Record	Killed	Injured	Damage
2014-01-28	Winter StormCoweta County · forecast zone Coweta One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. An arctic front pushed through the Southeast on the 27th, leaving very cold air in its wake. Behind the front, an area of moisture pushed north out of the Gulf on the 28th, spreading precipitation across north and central Georgia. With the surface cold air in place, the precipitation began as a mix of light sleet and ...	4	0	–
2010-01-07	Winter WeatherCherokee County · forecast zone Cherokee One storm episode: 7 records in 7 places; the totals are the episode's. A persistent Arctic air mass remained in place across the eastern half of the United States. A new mass of Arctic air was rapidly spreading south and east from the central Plains behind a cold front located moving southeast from the Arkalatex region. A deep upper low was digging southeastward from the Midwest. ...	3	37	–
2018-01-17	Winter WeatherBibb County · forecast zone Bibb One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong surface low and cold front associated with a large and deep upper-level trough, brought light to moderate snow to much of north and central Georgia from the afternoon of the January 16th through the morning of January 17th. With most of the precipitation post-frontal, temperatures were well below freezing ...	2	3	–
2011-01-09	Heavy SnowForsyth County · forecast zone Forsyth One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. One of the most significant winter storms to affect north and central Georgia in years, but especially north Georgia, began the evening of January 9th and continued throughout much of the following work week. Snowfall of four to seven inches was common across most of north Georgia north of Interstate-20. From ...	1	6	–
2010-02-12	Heavy SnowCarroll County · forecast zone Carroll One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's. A full latitude trough was moving through the eastern United States. An associated area of surface low pressure was moving from the central into the eastern Gulf of Mexico. An Arctic air mass lingered across the eastern U.S. Very cold air aloft and the cold Arctic surface air mass combined with the overrunning Gulf ...	1	6	–
2015-02-16	Ice StormLumpkin County · forecast zone Lumpkin The Lumpkin County Emergency Manager reported between a quarter and a half inch of ice accumulation on trees, power lines and other elevated surfaces across the county. Numerous trees and power lines were downed with over 10000 residents without power by the evening of the 16th. Many roads were blocked by downed trees ...	1	0	–
2014-02-12	Ice StormButts County · forecast zone Butts A significant winter storm impacted north and portions of central Georgia on Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th. For areas south of the Atlanta Metropolitan area and into central Georgia, the event began Wednesday morning the 12th. Rain mixed with and changed over to freezing rain through the morning hours, ...	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 winter storm records in Georgia

Georgia: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
Date	Record	Injured	Damage
2005-01-28	Winter StormDeKalb County · forecast zone De Kalb One storm episode: 13 records in 13 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$5.8M
2002-12-04	Ice StormHabersham County · forecast zone Habersham One storm episode: 6 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$4.9M
2000-01-22	Ice StormBanks County · forecast zone Banks One storm episode: 49 records in 49 places; the totals are the episode's.	1	$1.7M
2002-01-02	Winter StormDodge County · forecast zone Dodge	0	$1.6M
2005-12-15	Ice StormHall County · forecast zone Hall One storm episode: 3 records in 3 places; the totals are the episode's.	0	$1.1M
2009-03-01	Heavy SnowMadison County · forecast zone Madison One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's.	1	$963K
2004-01-25	Ice StormWilkes County · forecast zone Wilkes	1	$781K

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

Are winter storm 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.

Winter storms: Georgia and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
Decade	Georgia	United States	Georgia's share
1996-99	311	32,893	0.9%
2000s	1,147	88,805	1.3%
2010s	1,420	103,626	1.4%
2020-26	484	62,015	0.8%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent winter storm records in Georgia

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
Date	Record	Damage
2026-01-31	Winter StormWilkinson County · forecast zone Wilkinson	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormWilkes County · forecast zone Wilkes	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormWashington County · forecast zone Washington	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormWarren County · forecast zone Warren	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormWalton County · forecast zone Walton	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormTreutlen County · forecast zone Treutlen	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormTaliaferro County · forecast zone Taliaferro	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormFulton County · forecast zone South Fulton	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormRockdale County · forecast zone Rockdale	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormPutnam County · forecast zone Putnam	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormOglethorpe County · forecast zone Oglethorpe	–
2026-01-31	Winter StormOconee County · forecast zone Oconee	–

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 winter storm records in Georgia

FEMA has declared 6 disasters in Georgia for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 3 were major disasters, the latest on January 24, 2026.

The 12 most recent
Declared	Number	Title	Areas named
2026-01-24	EM-3642	Severe Winter Storm	112
2015-04-20	DR-4215	Severe Winter Storm	16
2014-03-06	DR-4165	Severe Winter Storm	45
2014-02-11	EM-3368	Severe Winter Storm	91
2000-01-28	DR-1311	Severe Winter Storm	51
1993-03-15	EM-3097	Severe Snowfall, Winter Storm	93

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