Tornadoes · United States · Georgia

2004 tornadoes in Georgia

44 tornadoes touched down in Georgia in 2004, 69 percent above the average of the record for the state. They killed 1 people and injured 12.

2003 2005 The whole country in 2004

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    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.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    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.

  7. 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.

Every tornado in Georgia in 2004

February 6 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 64:40 PM ESTF0Tattnall0.3100$10,000

May 2 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 211:30 AM EDTF1Clay8.01006$550,000

June 21 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 213:44 PM EDTF0Tattnall0.150
June 216:05 PM EDTF0Brantley0.50

July 14 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 146:14 PM EDTF0Cherokee0.250$1,000
July 146:43 PM EDTF0Cherokee0.150$1,000

August 15 1 tornado

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
August 153:40 PM EDTF0Camden0.00

September 5 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 54:15 PM EDTF0Lowndes0.250$10,000
September 58:30 PM EDTF0McIntosh0.350
September 512:05 AM EDTF0Liberty0.540

September 6 4 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 63:30 AM EDTF0Bryan0.530
September 64:20 AM EDTF0Bulloch5.060
September 69:00 AM EDTF1Liberty8.575
September 610:02 AM CDTF1Chatham to SC6.0300

September 15 8 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 154:40 PM EDTF0Early0.550$10,000
September 154:55 PM EDTF0Early1.050$20,000
September 155:16 PM EDTF0Early2.050$10,000
September 155:37 PM EDTF0Miller4.0100$120,000
September 155:42 PM EDTF0Calhoun0.250$10,000
September 156:19 PM EDTF1Grady15.0100$150,000
September 157:07 PM EDTF1Baker1.0100$10,000
September 157:27 PM EDTF1Baker1.0100$20,000

September 16 17 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 167:30 AM EDTF0Dougherty2.075$70,000
September 1611:35 AM EDTF0Coffee2.01
September 163:05 PM EDTF1Madison7.0150$1.3 million
September 163:33 PM EDTF0Madison1.050$50,000
September 163:42 PM EDTF0Upson0.150$1,000
September 163:50 PM EDTF2Franklin2.060$1.1 million
September 164:15 PM EDTF1Franklin3.530$30,000
September 164:21 PM EDTF0Spalding0.250$250,000
September 165:10 PM EDTF1Wilkes7.0500$1.5 million
September 165:18 PM EDTF1Elbert7.5301$100,000
September 165:38 PM EDTF1Elbert1.020$30,000
September 165:45 PM EDTF2Franklin5.55011$70,000
September 165:55 PM EDTF1Cherokee1.04004$300,000
September 166:15 PM EDTF1Hart1.540$10,000
September 168:30 PM EDTF1Habersham2.030$2,000
September 169:10 PM EDTF1Screven6.075
September 169:40 PM EDTF1Screven7.050

September 26 2 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 2611:55 PM EDTF0Clinch1.01
September 261:40 AM EDTF0Bulloch0.535

September 27 3 tornadoes

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
September 276:00 AM EDTF0Bulloch0.540
September 277:15 AM EDTF0Screven0.740
September 2710:20 AM EDTF0Jenkins0.530

Nearby

Every tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in GeorgiaThe 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.