Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, April 23, 1971

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, April 23, 1971
Start: 1971-04-23T06:45
End: 1971-04-23T19:30
Location: Georgia

April 23, 1971 · 22 events in 20 counties and zones

11 tornado, 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 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: 23
Property damage: $1.1 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 22

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

11 tornado, 6 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Polk

When: April 23, 6:45 AM CST
Where: Polk County
Coordinates: 34.000, -85.280

Tornado, Gwinnett

When: April 23, 9:10 AM CST
Where: Gwinnett County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 33.980, -84.200

Thunderstorm Wind, Douglas

When: April 23, 10:05 AM CST
Where: Douglas County
Coordinates: 33.700, -84.900

Thunderstorm Wind, De Kalb

When: April 23, 10:15 AM CST
Where: De Kalb County
Coordinates: 33.880, -84.280

Thunderstorm Wind, Carroll

When: April 23, 10:20 AM CST
Where: Carroll County
Coordinates: 33.580, -85.080

Tornado, Screven

When: April 23, 12:30 PM CST
Where: Screven County
Rating: F1
Path length: 6.1 mi
Path width: 77 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 32.870, -81.700

Hail, Harris

When: April 23, 2:00 PM CST
Where: Harris County
Measured: 2.5 in hail
Coordinates: 32.700, -84.900

Tornado, Emanuel

When: April 23, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Emanuel County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 32.820, -82.300

Thunderstorm Wind, Screven

When: April 23, 2:30 PM CST
Where: Screven County
Coordinates: 32.880, -81.580

Tornado, Paulding

When: April 23, 2:50 PM CST
Where: Paulding County
Rating: F3
Path length: 10.6 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.800, -84.600

Tornado, Randolph

When: April 23, 2:55 PM CST
Where: Randolph County
Rating: F3
Path length: 3.3 mi
Path width: 500 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 31.770, -84.630

Hail,

When: April 23, 3:45 PM CST
Where: County
Measured: 2.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.700, -83.680

Hail, Houston

When: April 23, 4:00 PM CST
Where: Houston County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.580, -83.580

Hail, Troup

When: April 23, 4:40 PM CST
Where: Troup County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 33.080, -85.180

Tornado, Macon

When: April 23, 5:30 PM CST
Where: Macon County
Rating: F2
Path length: 3.8 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.370, -84.220

Tornado, Dooly

When: April 23, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Dooly County
Rating: F3
Path length: 9.9 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.020, -83.970

Tornado, Sumter

When: April 23, 6:25 PM CST
Where: Sumter County
Rating: F3
Path length: 3.6 mi
Path width: 150 yd
Injuries: 8 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 32.020, -84.000

Thunderstorm Wind, Chatham

When: April 23, 7:23 PM CST
Where: Chatham County
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph)
Coordinates: 32.080, -81.180

Hail,

When: April 23, 7:25 PM CST
Where: County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 32.280, -85.000

Tornado, Lanier

When: April 23, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Lanier County
Rating: F1
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.800, -81.430

Tornado, Wilcox

When: April 23, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Wilcox County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.020, -83.330

Tornado, Tattnall

When: April 23, 7:30 PM CST
Where: Tattnall County
Rating: F2
Path length: 5.6 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 3 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.000, -81.970

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, Macon	1971-04-23				Direct

What these are

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.
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.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 1971 Every state in 1971 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Georgia, 1971

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: 9997558, 9997559, 9997560, 9997561, 9997562, 9997563, 9997564, 9997565, 9997566, 9997567, 9997568, 9997569, 9997570, 9997571, 9997572, 9997573, 9997574, 9997575, 9997576, 9997577, 9997578, 9997579.