Storm risk in Lowndes County, Georgia

FEMA's overall hazard score for Lowndes County is 72.65 (Relatively Low), 861st of 3,144 counties. Hail scores 23.63 (Very Low), strong wind 36.80 (Relatively Low) and tornado 73.76 (Relatively Moderate). Expected hail loss is $2.56 per $1 million of buildings a year; NOAA logged 12 hail reports in Lowndes County from 2014 to June 2026.

FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026. NOAA hail reports 2014 to June 2026.

Lowndes County: expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings for hail, strong wind and tornado, on a log scale, against all U.S. counties and the counties of GA$0.1$1$10$100$1,000Hail: $2.56 per $1 million, 2,605th of 3,126 rated counties$2.56Hail2,605th of 3,126 countiesStrong wind: $10 per $1 million, 2,197th of 3,121 rated counties$10Strong wind2,197th of 3,121 countiesTornado: $119 per $1 million, 1,996th of 3,144 rated counties$119Tornado1,996th of 3,144 counties
  • Lowndes County, coloured by its FEMA rating
  • all U.S. counties
  • each county in the state
  • U.S. median
  • state median

Expected yearly loss per $1 million of buildings, log scale. Dot colour is FEMA’s rating band. The tornado lane counts everything exposed, not only buildings.

How FEMA rates Lowndes County

HazardRatingScore (0 to 100)Rank in U.S.Rank in GA
OverallRelatively Low 72.65861 of 3,14422 of 159
HailVery Low 23.632,402 of 3,126119 of 159
Strong windRelatively Low 36.801,988 of 3,12670 of 159
TornadoRelatively Moderate 73.76826 of 3,12644 of 159

Expected yearly loss, in dollars

HazardThis county, total a yearPer $1M of buildingsState median countyU.S. median countyRank per $1M, U.S.Rank per $1M, state
Hail$59,527$2.56 $13$22 2,605 of 3,126151 of 159
Strong wind$235,035$10 $13$20 2,197 of 3,121108 of 159
Tornado$2,766,999$119 $209$199 1,996 of 3,144144 of 159

Rank 1 is the highest. Overall, hail and wind losses count buildings; the tornado row counts everything FEMA exposes, so it overstates building damage. Expected annual loss is an average over many years for the whole county, not a forecast for one roof.

What stands out in Lowndes County

  • FEMA expects hail in Lowndes County to cost $2.56 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.11 times the U.S. median and 0.19 times the GA county median, ranked 2,605th of 3,126 counties nationally and 151st of 159 in Georgia.
  • FEMA expects strong wind in Lowndes County to cost $10 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.50 times the U.S. median and 0.75 times the GA county median, ranked 2,197th of 3,121 counties nationally and 108th of 159 in Georgia.
  • FEMA expects tornado in Lowndes County to cost $119 per $1 million of buildings a year: 0.60 times the U.S. median and 0.57 times the GA county median, ranked 1,996th of 3,144 counties nationally and 144th of 159 in Georgia.
  • NOAA has only 12 hail reports for Lowndes County in 12 years, too few for a trend; FEMA's 56 counted hail events cover a longer record.
  • Applying FEMA's estimate to a $197,900 home, the average yearly loss in Lowndes County is about $0.51 for hail and $2.00 for wind before any deductible; at the U.S. median county rates it would be $4.42 and $4.03.
  • If the next years look like 2014 to 2025, a roof kept 20 years in Lowndes County meets about 10.0 hail days of 1 inch or more; the median county in NOAA's file (1,275 counties) would give 35.0.
  • Built in 1992, the median home in Lowndes County is 34 years old, so an original roof has outlived a 3-tab shingle (15 to 20 years) and an architectural one (25 to 30 years); 65.5% of its 50,323 homes are at least 26 years old.
  • March to June holds 10 of the 12 hail reports in Lowndes County (83 percent); the quietest month is January, with 0 reports.

What hail and wind cost a home here in an average year

Enter a home value. The calculator applies Lowndes County’s own loss rate: the county’s expected yearly loss divided by the value of its buildings. It starts at the Census median home value for the county.

$0.51hail, a year; $4.42 at the U.S. median county rate
$2.00strong wind, a year; $4.03 at the U.S. median county rate
$50hail and wind together over 20 years, at today’s rate

Formula: home value × Lowndes County yearly loss ÷ building value. Hail: $59,527 ÷ $23,292,581,547 = 0.0000026. Wind: $235,035 ÷ $23,292,581,547 = 0.0000101. This is FEMA’s estimate of average damage to buildings and does not account for your deductible. Tornado is left out because FEMA’s tornado loss counts people and other exposure, not only buildings.

Read this as a yardstick. The rate is an average over every building in the county, from sheds to office towers, and over many years. Real losses come in rare, large storms; a roof with no damage in 19 years can need full replacement in the 20th. The figure is not a quote and not a prediction for one address.

Lowndes County in plain numbers

  • Lowndes County scores 72.65 in FEMA's overall hazard index (Relatively Low): 861st of 3,144 rated counties and 22nd of 159 in Georgia.
  • Hail scores 23.63 (Very Low). FEMA expects $59,527 of hail damage to buildings in Lowndes County a year, which is $2.56 per $1 million of buildings, 0.11 times the U.S. median.
  • Strong wind scores 36.80 (Relatively Low) with $235,035 of expected yearly building loss in Lowndes County: $10 per $1 million of buildings, 0.50 times the U.S. median.
  • Tornado scores 73.76 (Relatively Moderate) and FEMA's expected yearly tornado loss is $2,766,999, counting everything exposed, or $119 per $1 million of buildings in Lowndes County.
  • FEMA's own event record for Lowndes County averages 1.47 hail events and 1.37 strong-wind events a year.
  • NOAA logged 12 hail reports in Lowndes County between 2014 and June 2026, on 6 days with stones of 1 inch or more; the largest was 1.75 inches.
  • In Lowndes County, FEMA counts buildings worth 23.29 billion dollars and 118,124 residents.
  • Social vulnerability is Relatively Moderate in Lowndes County.
  • Community resilience there is Relatively Moderate, for 118,124 residents.
  • 1 city in Lowndes County is covered on this site: Valdosta. 8 Census ZIP areas have more than half of their land in the county.
  • Our guide range for a 2,000 sq ft asphalt roof in Valdosta is $6,160 to $13,640.
  • Lowndes County ranks 170 of the 194 counties with a page here for hail loss per $1 million of buildings, 103 for wind and 143 for tornado.
  • In Lowndes County, April is the busiest month with 5 of the 12 reports (42 percent), against 0 reports in October.
  • Lowndes County's worst year was 2016, with 2 hail days at 1 inch or more and 2 reports. At the 2014 to 2025 pace that is 0.50 such days a year, one about every 24.0 months.
  • The median home in Lowndes County was built in 1992; 31.3% of its 50,323 housing units date from before 1980, 65.5% from before 2000 and 13.3% from 2010 on.
  • Census puts the median home value in Lowndes County at $197,900, and 56.1% of homes are lived in by their owners.
  • 11,010 single-family building permits were issued in Lowndes County from 2014 to 2025, about 218.8 per 1,000 homes, peaking in 2021.
  • NOAA lists 5 tornado tracks in Lowndes County since 2014; the strongest was an EF2 on February 4, 2024 near Dasher, 7.27 miles long.
  • The fastest gust in NOAA's records for Lowndes County is 75 mph on August 7, 2015 at Valdosta.
  • The nearest county with a page here is Dougherty County, 76 miles from the centre of Lowndes County; its hail score is 51.18.
  • Across counties the median is one roofing firm for every 5,189 homes; Census counted 8 roofing contractor establishments in Lowndes County in 2023, one for every 6,290 homes.

The hail record of Lowndes County, year by year

NOAA logged 12 reports in Lowndes County; hail of 1 inch or more fell on 6 days. With so few reports the yearly bars below are small numbers, and a single storm moves them.

Lowndes County: NOAA hail reports per year, 2014 to June 2026, with the number of days that had hail of 1 inch or more01232014: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch142015: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch152016: 2 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch162017: 1 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.75 inch172018: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch182019: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch192020: 1 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1 inch202021: 3 reports, 1 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.25 inch212022: 3 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0.75 inch222023: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch232024: 2 reports, 2 days at 1 inch or more, largest 1.75 inch242025: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch252026: 0 reports, 0 days at 1 inch or more, largest 0 inch26*
  • reports
  • days with hail of 1 inch or more
  • * 2026 runs to June only
Lowndes County: NOAA hail reports by calendar month, 2014 to June 2026January: 0 reports0JanFebruary: 1 reports1FebMarch: 1 reports1MarApril: 5 reports5AprMay: 2 reports2MayJune: 2 reports2JunJuly: 1 reports1JulAugust: 0 reports0AugSeptember: 0 reports0SepOctober: 0 reports0OctNovember: 0 reports0NovDecember: 0 reports0Dec

Reports by calendar month, all years together. Peak: April, 5 reports.

The same numbers as a table (years with at least one report)
YearReportsDays, 1 inch or moreDays, 1.75 inch or moreLargest stoneDamage reported
20162211.75 in–
20171000.75 in–
20201101 in–
20213101.25 in–
20223000.75 in–
20242211.75 in–

Biggest hail days in Lowndes County

DateLargest stoneReports that dayDamage reportedNear
May 3, 20161.75 in1none recordedRemerton
March 27, 20241.75 in1none recordedNaylor
April 24, 20211.25 in3none recordedTwin Lakes
July 12, 20161 in1none recordedValdosta
April 19, 20201 in1none recordedMoody Afb

Where large hail was reported

FEMA scores the county as a whole. NOAA’s reports show where inside Lowndes County the big stones fell.

Reported hail locations, Lowndes County

1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1 in hail1.25 in hail1.75 in hail1.75 in hail Valdosta
  • 51 to 1.74 in
  • 21.75 to 2.74 in, golf ball to tennis ball
  • 02.75 in and up, baseball

Largest plotted stone: 1.75 in. Bigger dots are bigger stones.

7 reports of 1 inch or larger have coordinates. Each dot is a reported location, not a storm path.

Sources: NOAA, Census county outline

Wind and tornado records for Lowndes County

Fastest gusts in Lowndes County

DateGustNear
August 7, 201575 mphValdosta
January 22, 201775 mphHahira
January 9, 202475 mphClyattville
March 27, 202475 mphRemerton

Strongest tornado tracks in Lowndes County

DateScaleLengthInjured / killedNear
February 4, 2024EF27.27 mi2 / 0Dasher
December 29, 2014EF20.74 mi9 / 0Valdosta
January 22, 2017EF14.84 mi0 / 0I-75 At Exit 22
April 6, 2022EF07.88 mi0 / 0Clyattville

5 tornado tracks in all since 2014; the strongest 4 are listed.

How old the roofs are

Census counts homes by the decade they were built. Under each bar is the number of hail days of 1 inch or more that an original roof from that decade has met, at Lowndes County’s 2014 to 2025 pace of 0.50 such days a year. Most roofs have been replaced since; the row shows what a roof that never was would have taken.

Lowndes County: share of homes by decade built, with the hail days at 1 inch or more that an original roof from each decade has met at the county's 2014 to 2025 ratepre-1940: 2.8% of homes2.8%<1940461940s: 2.0% of homes2%1940s401950s: 6.5% of homes6.5%1950s361960s: 6.4% of homes6.4%1960s301970s: 13.6% of homes13.6%1970s261980s: 15.0% of homes15%1980s201990s: 19.2% of homes19.2%1990s162000s: 21.2% of homes21.2%2000s102010s: 12.3% of homes12.3%2010s62020+: 1.0% of homes1%2020+2

Bars: share of 50,323 housing units by decade built. Figures under the decade: hail days met by an original roof, at the county’s 2014 to 2025 pace. The pace of earlier years is unknown.

Median year built1992
Built before 198031.3%
Built before 200065.5%
Built since 201013.3%
Owner-occupied56.1%
Median home value$197,900
Single-family permits, 2014 to 202511,010
Permits per 1,000 homes218.8

Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) and 25 to 30 years (architectural). Source: Census ACS 2019 to 2023 and Building Permits Survey.

Roofers and past disasters in Lowndes County

Roofing firms in Lowndes County

Roofing contractor establishments, 20238
Change since 2016+3 (+60%)
Homes per roofing firm6,290
Median across counties5,189
Employees, 202355

Source for Lowndes County: Census County Business Patterns, NAICS 238160.

Nearby counties

The closest counties that have a risk page, by distance between county centres. Loss is per $1 million of buildings; the columns marked "times here" divide the neighbour's loss by Lowndes County's.

CountyMilesOverallHail lossHail, times hereWind lossWind, times hereNOAA hail reports
Dougherty County, GA76 Relatively Moderate $3.731.46$272.6415
Houston County, GA117 Relatively Low $135.11$101.0213
Bibb County, GA139 Relatively Low $186.94$100.995
Chatham County, GA149 Relatively High $3.511.37$1.590.1637
Muscogee County, GA149 Relatively Moderate $145.30$4.340.4314
Richmond County, GA189 Relatively Moderate $8.583.36$212.1128

More Georgia counties, nearest first

All 194 counties, with a filter by state and sorting

Cities and ZIP areas in Lowndes County

1 city in this county is on PickARoofer. ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are Census shapes that approximate ZIP codes; where we have a city’s ZIPs, the share is the part of each area’s land that lies in this county. 8 such areas have more than half their land here.

CityZIP areas (share of land in the county)Pages
Valdosta 31601 (100%), 31602 (61%), 31605 (100%), 31637 (0%) Roofers

Storm hit your roof in Lowndes County? A free inspection tells you if there is damage. One local roofer answers, not five.

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Questions

How high is storm risk in Lowndes County?

FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lowndes County an overall score of 72.65 (Relatively Low), 861st of 3,144. Hail scores 23.63 (Very Low), strong wind 36.80 (Relatively Low) and tornado 73.76 (Relatively Moderate).

In Lowndes County, how many hail reports has NOAA logged?

A report is one entry for one storm in one county, so counts follow where people live as well as where hail fell. NOAA has 12 for Lowndes County between 2014 and June 2026, on 6 days with hail of 1 inch or more; the largest stone was 1.75 inches.

What do hail and wind cost a home in Lowndes County each year, on average?

Applying FEMA's county rates to its median home value of $197,900: FEMA's estimate is about $0.51 a year for hail and $2.00 for wind, before any deductible, against $4.42 and $4.03 at the U.S. median county rates. This is an average over many years and all buildings, not a prediction for one roof; one bad storm costs far more than the average year.

How does Lowndes County compare with the rest of Georgia?

Per $1 million of buildings Lowndes County loses $2.56 to hail a year, against $13 in the median county of the state. Among 159 rated counties it is 119th for hail, 70th for strong wind and 44th for tornado.

How old are the roofs in Lowndes County?

The median home was built in 1992, 34 years ago, and 65.5% of the 50,323 housing units in Lowndes County date from before 2000. Asphalt shingles are rated 15 to 20 years (3-tab) or 25 to 30 years (architectural), so an original roof of either kind is past its rated life. The Census does not record when a roof was replaced.

What does expected annual loss mean?

It is FEMA's estimate of the average yearly loss from a hazard, in dollars, summed over the county. It is built for comparing counties at planning level, not for pricing one house.

Does a high rating mean my roof will be damaged?

No. The index compares counties and cannot say what will happen on your street. After a storm, a roof inspection is the only way to know.

Sources for Lowndes County: FEMA National Risk Index, version December 2025, retrieved October 8, 2026; NOAA Storm Events Database hail reports for Lowndes County; Census Bureau ZCTA-to-county relationship file (2020); Census ACS and Building Permits Survey, homes in Lowndes County; Census County Business Patterns, roofing firms in Lowndes County. Planning-level information about Lowndes County, not an inspection and not insurance advice.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).