Savannah Metro Area Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
The chance of earthquake damage in Savannah Area is about the same as Georgia average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Savannah Area is much lower than Georgia average and is lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #487
| Savannah Area | 0.04 |
| Georgia | 0.08 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #129
| Savannah Area | 0.0000 |
| Georgia | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #615
| Savannah Area | 93.46 |
| Georgia | 179.92 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 7,742 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Savannah Area were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 16 | Dense Fog: | 2 | Drought: | 64 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 465 | Hail: | 2,046 | Heat: | 28 | Heavy Snow: | 19 |
| High Surf: | 6 | Hurricane: | 7 | Ice Storm: | 12 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 55 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 4,610 | Tropical Storm: | 25 | Wildfire: | 1 | Winter Storm: | 11 | Winter Weather: | 7 |
| Other: | 368 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Savannah Area.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Savannah Area.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Savannah Area.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 26 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Savannah Area.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 8.9 | 1998-04-09 | 2 | 32°11'N / 81°25'W | 32°14'N / 81°18'W | 8.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 500K | 0 | Effingham |
| Brief Description: The Bryan County tornado crossed the county line and weakened as it moved into a less populated area. Once the tornado moved east of GA State Road 17, it lifted. There were no further reports of damage or touchdowns from the parent supercell until the F1 touchdown reported just west of Hardeeville, S.C., which is approximately 12 miles from the last report of damage in Effingham County, Georgia. There were 40 homes damaged along GA 17, about 5 miles south of Guyton. Six of these were mobile homes that were destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off 10 to 15 feet above the ground. | |||||||||||
| 9.2 | 1961-09-13 | 2 | 32°04'N / 81°07'W | 0.20 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 11.4 | 1980-05-23 | 2 | 32°03'N / 81°05'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 13.0 | 1973-11-09 | 2 | 32°00'N / 81°05'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 14.9 | 1998-04-09 | 3 | 32°10'N / 81°35'W | 32°13'N / 81°25'W | 8.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 2 | 16 | 2.2M | 0 | Bryan |
| Brief Description: Tornado first touched down just northeast of Pembroke and then crossed I-16 at the Olive Branch Road overpass (about 2 miles west of exit 29) then continued northeast. Significant damage occurred in the Olive Branch Rd. area and also just north of Blitchton, where a 38 year-old female and a 41 year old male were killed along with 15 injured. There were seventy-four (74) homes and other buildiings damaged, with fourteen of those destroyed (6 mobile homes, two frame houses, two brick homes, and four other buildings. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off 10 to 15 feet above the ground. F38MH, M41MH | |||||||||||
| 15.1 | 2008-03-15 | 2 | 32°19'N / 81°12'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3.0M | 0K | Effingham | |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 Tornado was confirmed by a Storm Survey conducted by the Charleston, South Carolina National Weather Service Forecast Office. The Tornado touched down in Effingham county 3.5 miles northeast of Rincon, Georgia and just northwest of the Georgia Power McIntosh Plant around 944 PM EDT and traveled southeast approximately a half a mile before lifting at 945 PM EDT. This Tornado destroyed a water cooling tower, damaged another water cooling tower and several buildings, toppled two high voltage transmission towers, knocked down or uprooted several dozen trees, tossed tractor trailer cargo containers with equipment inside up to 100 yards. In addition, at the time of the survey one of the tractor trailer containers could not be found. A steel hoist roof assembly weighing a couple thousand pounds used to load and unload heavy items was tossed 100 feet. This tornado was up to 100 yards wide and had maximum sustained winds estimated between 120 and 130 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A large and intense area of low pressure lifted northward through the central Appalachians, dragging a strong cold front toward southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia. The combination of the approaching cold front along with strong dynamic forcing and plenty of instability resulted in a widespread organized severe weather outbreak across the region. | |||||||||||
| 18.3 | 1972-10-27 | 2 | 32°22'N / 81°19'W | 1.00 Mile | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Effingham | |
| 18.6 | 2008-03-15 | 2 | 32°23'N / 81°18'W | 32°22'N / 81°12'W | 7.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 5 | 1.5M | 0K | Effingham |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 Tornado was confirmed by a Storm Survey conducted by the Charleston, South Carolina National Weather Service Forecast Office. The Tornado touched down in Effingham county 1 mile northeast of Springfield, Georgia at 934 PM EDT and traveled southeast approximately 7 miles before lifting at 943 PM EDT about 6 miles east-southeast of Springfield, Georgia. This Tornado destroyed three mobile homes, damaged three to four dozen homes, knocked down 15 high voltage transmission towers, destroyed or damaged 20 vehicles, destroyed numerous outbuildings, sheds, and barns. Five people were injured when the mobile home they were in was blown over and rolled a time or two. Another person was injured when they drove a car into a tree that had fallen across the road. This tornado was a quarter mile wide at its widest point when it crossed Ebenezer Road and had maximum sustained winds estimated between 110 and 120 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A large and intense area of low pressure lifted northward through the central Appalachians, dragging a strong cold front toward southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia. The combination of the approaching cold front along with strong dynamic forcing and plenty of instability resulted in a widespread organized severe weather outbreak across the region. | |||||||||||
| 24.5 | 1969-04-18 | 2 | 31°48'N / 81°40'W | 31°52'N / 81°24'W | 16.40 Miles | 233 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Liberty |
| 24.5 | 1998-04-09 | 2 | 31°51'N / 81°44'W | 31°56'N / 81°28'W | 17.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 1 | 7 | 38.0M | 0 | Liberty |
| Brief Description: F2 tornado moved from Long County into Liberty County, which encompasses much of Fort Stewart Army Base. One soldier was killed while in an administrative building and seven others were injured. Seven buildings were destroyed while another fifty-five(55) suffered different degrees of damage. M51BU | |||||||||||
| 25.1 | 1970-05-25 | 2 | 32°01'N / 80°51'W | 2.50 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chatham | |
| 26.4 | 2009-10-27 | 2 | 32°00'N / 81°42'W | 32°00'N / 81°42'W | 1.00 Mile | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 425K | Liberty |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The United States Army Garrison at Fort Steward, Georgia found 850 full size trees downed in one of their training areas. Crew members of Fort Steward determined many downed trees were in a dropped matchstick pattern. A survey from air and ground confirmed EF2 tornado damage with estimated wind speeds between 115 to 125 miles per hour. The tornado occurred along a southwest to northeast path beginning at latitude and longitude coordinates 32.002, -81.708 and ending at 32.013, -81.708. The tornado path length was 0.80 mile long and approximately 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile wide. A total of 63 acres were damaged. The monetary damage was estimated at $425,000. Timber from the trees will be salvaged. No injuries or deaths resulted from this event. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A weak short wave tracked northeast to the lee of the Southern Appalachians late Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening, providing ascent and allowing a band of convection to shift east into the forecast area. Convection became enhanced as a warm front lifted north and west into the forecast area causing dewpoints to surge into the mid 70s and destabilization to occur. Meanwhile, strong low-level shear developed as a low-level jet strengthened to 30-50 kt over the area. | |||||||||||
| 27.9 | 1975-05-03 | 2 | 32°29'N / 81°16'W | 32°32'N / 81°12'W | 5.40 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Effingham |
| 28.8 | 1971-01-15 | 2 | 31°48'N / 81°36'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Liberty | |
| 31.6 | 1974-05-12 | 2 | 31°50'N / 81°42'W | 0.60 Mile | 40 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Long | |
| 34.5 | 1998-04-09 | 2 | 31°50'N / 81°47'W | 31°51'N / 81°45'W | 2.50 Miles | 400 Yards | 3 | 24 | 200K | 0 | Long |
| Brief Description: Tornado touched down in the Rye Patch Community where 3 people died (all were in mobile homes).Ten mobile homes were destroyed and two others were damaged along with a roof blown off a block house. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off above the ground. F13MH, F30MH, M49MH | |||||||||||
| 36.1 | 1974-05-12 | 2 | 31°56'N / 81°56'W | 31°59'N / 81°47'W | 9.40 Miles | 100 Yards | 2 | 7 | 2.5M | 0 | Tattnall |
| 36.9 | 1984-05-03 | 2 | 32°22'N / 81°53'W | 32°31'N / 81°38'W | 20.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 30 | 2.5M | 0 | Bulloch |
| 37.8 | 1961-03-31 | 2 | 32°00'N / 81°54'W | 0.20 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 3K | 0 | Tattnall | |
| 39.0 | 1971-04-23 | 2 | 32°00'N / 81°58'W | 32°02'N / 81°53'W | 5.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Tattnall |
| 40.5 | 2003-07-01 | 2 | 32°31'N / 81°46'W | 32°33'N / 81°43'W | 4.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bulloch |
| Brief Description: A tornado knocked down trees and damaged mobile homes Much of WFO Charleston's CWA was impacted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill as it tracked to the northeast across the extreme northern section of Georgia. The mini outbreak of tornadoes started around 8 p.m. on the night of July 1st and did not stop until after 115 a.m. on the morning of July 2nd. Fortunately, there were no deaths with the tornadoes. Screven County was hardest hit with three separate tornadoes and three areas of wind damage. | |||||||||||
| 40.8 | 1971-01-15 | 2 | 31°56'N / 81°56'W | 1.00 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Tattnall | |
| 41.6 | 2003-07-01 | 2 | 32°34'N / 81°42'W | 32°36'N / 81°42'W | 2.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Screven |
| Brief Description: A tornado moved out of Bulloch county into the extreme southern part of the county. Numerous trees were knocked down. Much of WFO Charleston's CWA was impacted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill as it tracked to the northeast across the extreme northern section of Georgia. The mini outbreak of tornadoes started around 8 p.m. on the night of July 1st and did not stop until after 115 a.m. on the morning of July 2nd. Fortunately, there were no deaths with the tornadoes. Screven County was hardest hit with three separate tornadoes and three areas of wind damage. | |||||||||||
| 45.7 | 2003-07-01 | 2 | 32°41'N / 81°36'W | 32°45'N / 81°32'W | 6.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Screven |
| Brief Description: A tornado knocked down numerous trees and power lines and overturned a car. Much of WFO Charleston's CWA was impacted by the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill as it tracked to the northeast across the extreme northern section of Georgia. The mini outbreak of tornadoes started around 8 p.m. on the night of July 1st and did not stop until after 115 a.m. on the morning of July 2nd. Fortunately, there were no deaths with the tornadoes. Screven County was hardest hit with three separate tornadoes and three areas of wind damage. | |||||||||||
| 49.1 | 2008-05-11 | 4 | 31°24'N / 81°27'W | 31°24'N / 81°18'W | 11.00 Miles | 700 Yards | 0 | 9 | 12.5M | 0K | Mcintosh |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A survey team from the National Weather Service Office in Charleston, South Carolina along with other damage survey experts from across the country determined that the Tornado that struck McIntosh county Georgia on Sunday morning May 11, was a violent EF-4. The Tornado beginning and end times are based on radar data combined with credible ground truth reports. The Tornado formed at 952 am, approximately 3 miles northwest of Darien, Georgia and tracked east about 11 miles before dissipating at 1007 am as a water spout in Doboy Sound. The Tornado formed in a wooded area about a half mile west of Route 251 where numerous trees were snapped off. The Tornado strengthened rapidly as it approached and moved across Route 251. The Tornado struck a Marine Sales and Services Business located on the east side of Route 251. The bolts for all but one of the anchored metal support beams for the metal building were snapped off just above the concrete slab. With the exception of the one metal support beam that was bent to the ground, the slab was wiped clean. Approximately 50 boats were tossed around and destroyed, with one 18 foot 4000 pound boast carried about 650 yards into some trees. A 32 foot 8000 pound boat was carried about 130 yards onto the top of the Gateway Behavioral Services Building. A vehicle that was parked in the parking lot was carried in the air 150 yards. One 125 horsepower boat motor weighing 300 to 350 pounds was carried 250 yards and deposited into the roof of a building. In addition, one of the boats had yet to be accounted for at the time the survey was conducted. Several other vehicles near the business were rolled or tossed and severely damaged or destroyed. No one was in the building at the time the Tornado struck and damage to the building and all the boats were estimated to be 5 million dollars. Approximately 100 yards to the south-southeast of the Marine Sales and Services Building, the McIntosh Emergency Medical Services Building was destroyed by the Tornado with damage to three ambulances and one fire truck. Many of the metal support beams from this facility were torn from the concrete slab or snapped off. This building was rated for 120 mph winds. No one was in this building at the time of the Tornado because they were out on a non weather related call. The Gateway Behavioral Health and Services Building was totally destroyed. This metal framed building with brick exterior was located about 100 yards east-northeast of the McIntosh Emergency Medical Services Building and 130 yards east-southeast of the Marine Sales and Services Building. The roof of the Gateway Building collapsed along with many of the outer brick walls. Many of the large load bearing metal beams were bent or knocked down. Portions of the metal roof were carried a mile away onto Interstate 95. Some of the roofing material was found 11 miles away on Sapelo Island. Of the 12 people that were in the building when the Tornado hit, 9 were injured sustaining broken bones and or lacerations. Six vehicles around this building were damaged or destroyed and a metal light pole and several trees were snapped off in this area. Two other businesses in this area suffered damage including damage to satellite dishes and two overturned tractor trailers. Damage to the Marine Sales and Services Business and the Gateway Behavioral Health and Services Building indicated that EF-4 damage had occurred with winds estimated to be between 170 and 180 mph. After leaving this area the Tornado traveled east and weakened. The Tornado reached its maximum width of 700 yards as it crossed Interstate 95, and then decreased in size and was mainly from 200 to 500 yards wide during the remainder of the path. The Tornado damaged or destroyed four billboards along Interstate 95, produced mainly minor roof damage to several dozen homes mainly in the Ridgeville area, snapped off or uprooted thousands of trees, some of them falling on homes or vehicles, and damaged or destroyed numerous outbuildings. A resident of Ridgeville, Georgia whose home suffered minor damage in the Tornado, took shelter in a closet after seeing a National Weather Service Severe Weather Statement on the television mentioning that Ridgeville was in the path of the Tornado. The Tornado also damaged the Blue-N-Hall Marina and Fishing Dock. In this area, a large boat hoist along with 18 boats and several boat trailers were damaged or destroyed. Several power poles were also snapped off and several vehicles were damaged. Numerous trees were also snapped off on Hird Island. The Tornado likely dissipated over Doboy Sound as a waterspout. Besides portions of the Gateway roof, lots of other debris including signs were deposited on Sapelo Island. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A warm front lifted northward through southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia during the morning, with a strong cold front then sweeping through the area during the evening. This resulted in several rounds of severe weather across the region. | |||||||||||
| 49.4 | 1967-07-07 | 2 | 32°45'N / 81°38'W | 0.50 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Screven | |
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.