Tornadoes in Georgia
1,977 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 26.0 a year, 15th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 237 people and injured 4,173. 11 were rated F4 or EF4 and above.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale
Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.
F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale
Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.
Unrated
The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.
The deadliest in Georgia
- EF4, Catoosa, Hamilton, Bradley, Polk and McMinn counties, Georgia and TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- F4, Houston County, GeorgiaApril 30, 1953
- F3, Hall and White counties, GeorgiaMarch 20, 1998
- EF3, Brooks, Cook and Berrien counties, GeorgiaJanuary 22, 2017
- F3, Mitchell County, GeorgiaFebruary 13, 2000
- F3, Bartow, Gordon, Cherokee and Pickens counties, GeorgiaMarch 27, 1994
- F4, Gordon, Whitfield and Murray counties, GeorgiaApril 3, 1974
- EF2, Murray County, GeorgiaApril 12, 2020
- F3, Grady, Mitchell and Thomas counties, GeorgiaFebruary 13, 2000
- EF2, Baker, Mitchell, Dougherty and Worth counties, GeorgiaMarch 1, 2007
- F3, Mitchell and Worth counties, GeorgiaMarch 20, 2003
- F4, Pickens, Dawson and Lumpkin counties, GeorgiaApril 3, 1974
The strongest
- F4, Bartow, Floyd, Cherokee and Pickens counties, GeorgiaMarch 27, 1994
- EF4, Catoosa, Hamilton, Bradley, Polk and McMinn counties, Georgia and TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- EF4, Heard, Coweta and Fayette counties, GeorgiaMarch 25, 2021
- F4, Putnam and Greene counties, GeorgiaNovember 22, 1992
- F4, Gordon, Whitfield and Murray counties, GeorgiaApril 3, 1974
- F4, Fannin and Cherokee counties, Georgia and North CarolinaApril 3, 1974
- F4, Cobb and Cherokee counties, GeorgiaNovember 22, 1992
- F4, Pickens, Dawson and Lumpkin counties, GeorgiaApril 3, 1974
- EF4, Bryan County, GeorgiaApril 5, 2022
- EF4, McIntosh County, GeorgiaMay 11, 2008
- F4, Houston County, GeorgiaApril 30, 1953
- F3, Troup, Meriwether, Spalding and Henry counties, GeorgiaDecember 24, 1964
The longest paths
- F2, Seminole, Decatur, Grady and Mitchell counties, GeorgiaApril 18, 1969
- EF2, Spalding, Butts, Jasper and Newton counties, GeorgiaJanuary 12, 2023
- F1, Mitchell, Worth, Tift and Berrien counties, GeorgiaApril 8, 1974
- F3, Troup, Meriwether, Spalding and Henry counties, GeorgiaDecember 24, 1964
- F2, Schley, Macon, Peach and Houston counties, GeorgiaApril 5, 1957
- F2, Clayton, DeKalb, Rockdale and Screven counties, GeorgiaMarch 31, 1973
- EF3, Dougherty, Worth, Turner and Wilcox counties, GeorgiaJanuary 22, 2017
- F1, Clay, Randolph, Terrell and Lee counties, GeorgiaJanuary 20, 1963
- F3, Lincoln, McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda and Newberry counties, Georgia and South CarolinaNovember 22, 1992
- F1, Tift, Colquitt and Bacon counties, GeorgiaMarch 31, 1962
- F2, Emanuel, Jenkins and Burke counties, GeorgiaSeptember 28, 1963
- F1, Harris, Meriwether, Spalding and Fayette counties, GeorgiaApril 13, 1980
The costliest
- EF3, Dougherty, Worth, Turner and Wilcox counties, GeorgiaJanuary 22, 2017
- EF3, Webster and Sumter counties, GeorgiaMarch 1, 2007
- EF3, Bartow and Gordon counties, GeorgiaJanuary 30, 2013
- F2, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, GeorgiaApril 8, 1998
- F2, Henry County, GeorgiaJuly 6, 2005
- EF4, Catoosa, Hamilton, Bradley, Polk and McMinn counties, Georgia and TennesseeApril 27, 2011
- EF1, Cherokee County, GeorgiaMay 20, 2008
- F2, Long, Liberty and Bryan counties, GeorgiaApril 9, 1998
- F1, Marion and Schley counties, GeorgiaNovember 21, 1997
- EF3, Meriwether, Spalding and Henry counties, GeorgiaApril 27, 2011
- EF2, Fulton and DeKalb counties, GeorgiaMarch 14, 2008
- F2, Cobb and Fulton counties, GeorgiaApril 8, 1998
The biggest days in Georgia
Every year
| Year | Tornadoes | Deaths | Injuries | F4 and above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2024 | 32 | 2 | 10 | |
| 2023 | 55 | 4 | 72 | |
| 2022 | 42 | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| 2021 | 47 | 28 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 59 | 11 | 53 | |
| 2019 | 42 | 5 | ||
| 2018 | 24 | 6 | ||
| 2017 | 117 | 16 | 151 | |
| 2016 | 28 | 5 | ||
| 2015 | 23 | 3 | ||
| 2014 | 30 | 12 | ||
| 2013 | 18 | 1 | 21 | |
| 2012 | 15 | 1 | ||
| 2011 | 39 | 26 | 400 | 1 |
| 2010 | 9 | |||
| 2009 | 56 | 1 | 26 | |
| 2008 | 65 | 5 | 83 | 1 |
| 2007 | 42 | 10 | 38 | |
| 2006 | 21 | 16 | ||
| 2005 | 54 | 4 | 34 | |
| 2004 | 44 | 1 | 12 | |
| 2003 | 27 | 6 | 213 | |
| 2002 | 23 | 17 | ||
| 2001 | 12 | 23 | ||
| 2000 | 28 | 19 | 206 | |
| 1999 | 11 | 33 | ||
| 1998 | 38 | 19 | 291 | |
| 1997 | 22 | 1 | 15 | |
| 1996 | 18 | 1 | 24 | |
| 1995 | 21 | 52 | ||
| 1994 | 52 | 20 | 262 | 1 |
| 1993 | 21 | 5 | 71 | |
| 1992 | 18 | 7 | 162 | 2 |
| 1991 | 17 | 59 | ||
| 1990 | 18 | 22 | ||
| 1989 | 37 | 3 | 99 | |
| 1988 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 1987 | 2 | |||
| 1986 | 9 | 40 | ||
| 1985 | 11 | 16 | ||
| 1984 | 36 | 45 | ||
| 1983 | 26 | 20 | ||
| 1982 | 15 | 11 | ||
| 1981 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1980 | 32 | 12 | ||
| 1979 | 20 | 12 | ||
| 1978 | 13 | 3 | ||
| 1977 | 17 | 1 | 22 | |
| 1976 | 20 | 3 | ||
| 1975 | 21 | 5 | 233 | |
| 1974 | 29 | 23 | 186 | 3 |
| 1973 | 31 | 3 | 197 | |
| 1972 | 42 | 1 | 50 | |
| 1971 | 46 | 2 | 49 | |
| 1970 | 20 | 1 | 18 | |
| 1969 | 12 | 39 | ||
| 1968 | 24 | 12 | ||
| 1967 | 24 | 7 | ||
| 1966 | 21 | 18 | ||
| 1965 | 14 | 3 | ||
| 1964 | 10 | 2 | 20 | |
| 1963 | 18 | 1 | 15 | |
| 1962 | 12 | |||
| 1961 | 45 | 1 | 19 | |
| 1960 | 7 | |||
| 1959 | 10 | 9 | ||
| 1958 | 11 | 19 | ||
| 1957 | 18 | 3 | 22 | |
| 1956 | 17 | 2 | ||
| 1955 | 15 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1954 | 23 | 7 | 162 | |
| 1953 | 11 | 20 | 318 | 1 |
| 1952 | 12 | 34 | ||
| 1951 | 3 | |||
| 1950 | 4 | 1 |
Every county in Georgia
A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 1,977. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.
Nearby
Warnings in force in GeorgiaForecast for your townThe live radar over Georgia
What this means
Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.
Sources
NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.