Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Georgia, January 20, 1963

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Georgia, January 20, 1963
Start: 1963-01-20T15:50
End: 1963-01-20T18:00
Location: Georgia

January 20, 1963 · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

9 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 8
Property damage: $6.1 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

9 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Schley

When: January 20, 3:50 PM CST
Where: Schley County
Rating: F2
Path length: 4.3 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.250, -84.300

Tornado, Clay

When: January 20, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Clay County
Rating: F1
Path length: 7.4 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 31.600, -85.050

Tornado, Macon

When: January 20, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Macon County
Rating: F2
Path length: 12.1 mi
Path width: 400 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.270, -84.230

Tornado, Twiggs

When: January 20, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Twiggs County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.630, -83.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Crisp

When: January 20, 4:10 PM CST
Where: Crisp County
Coordinates: 31.900, -83.680

Tornado, Randolph

When: January 20, 4:15 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Rating: F1
Path length: 62.8 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Property damage: $2.5 million
Coordinates: 31.630, -84.930

Tornado, Wilcox

When: January 20, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Wilcox County
Rating: F1
Path length: 8.2 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.950, -83.580

Tornado, Houston

When: January 20, 4:30 PM CST
Where: Houston County
Rating: F2
Path length: 7.9 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.500, -83.730

Tornado, Jeff Davis

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Jeff Davis County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.870, -82.600

Tornado, Montgomery

When: January 20, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Montgomery County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.030, -82.500

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tornado, Clay	1963-01-20				Direct

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 1963 Every state in 1963 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Georgia, 1963

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 9994369, 9994370, 9994371, 9994372, 9994373, 9994374, 9994375, 9994376, 9994377, 9994378.