Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, January 15, 1971

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Georgia, January 15, 1971
Start: 1971-01-15T10:15
End: 1971-01-15T13:25
Location: Georgia

January 15, 1971 · 16 events in 13 counties and zones

9 tornado, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 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: 6
Property damage: $225,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 16

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, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Taylor

When: January 15, 10:15 AM CST
Where: Taylor County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.500, -84.180

Thunderstorm Wind, Houston

When: January 15, 10:45 AM CST
Where: Houston County
Coordinates: 32.380, -83.680

Thunderstorm Wind, Stewart

When: January 15, 10:50 AM CST
Where: Stewart County
Coordinates: 32.080, -84.680

Tornado, Sumter

When: January 15, 11:30 AM CST
Where: Sumter County
Rating: F2
Path length: 2 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.050, -84.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Dougherty

When: January 15, 11:40 AM CST
Where: Dougherty County
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Coordinates: 31.600, -84.180

Tornado, Bleckley

When: January 15, 12:00 PM CST
Where: Bleckley County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.380, -83.370

Tornado, Toombs

When: January 15, 12:20 PM CST
Where: Toombs County
Rating: F1
Path width: 33 yd
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.220, -82.420

Hail, Toombs

When: January 15, 12:20 PM CST
Where: Toombs County
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Coordinates: 32.200, -82.400

Tornado, Ben Hill

When: January 15, 12:30 PM CST
Where: Ben Hill County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.8 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.700, -83.250

Tornado, Grady

When: January 15, 12:40 PM CST
Where: Grady County
Rating: F1
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 30.880, -84.220

Tornado, Tattnall

When: January 15, 12:40 PM CST
Where: Tattnall County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 32.230, -82.120

Tornado, Tattnall

When: January 15, 12:40 PM CST
Where: Tattnall County
Rating: F2
Path length: 1 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.930, -81.930

Tornado, Bacon

When: January 15, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Bacon County
Rating: F2
Path width: 33 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.630, -82.580

Thunderstorm Wind, Bacon

When: January 15, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Bacon County
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Coordinates: 31.500, -82.500

Tornado, Liberty

When: January 15, 1:15 PM CST
Where: Liberty County
Rating: F2
Path length: 0.5 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 4 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 31.800, -81.600

Thunderstorm Wind, Long

When: January 15, 1:25 PM CST
Where: Long County
Coordinates: 31.700, -81.680

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, Sumter	1971-01-15				Direct

What these are

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

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: 9996459, 9996460, 9996461, 9996462, 9996463, 9996464, 9996465, 9996466, 9996467, 9996468, 9996469, 9996470, 9996471, 9996472, 9996473, 9997325.