Tornadoes · United States · Georgia

Tornadoes in Worth County, Georgia

38 tornadoes have crossed Worth County since 1950, 4th of the 158 counties in Georgia with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.0 years. They have killed 19 people and injured 353. None was rated F4 or 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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  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.

Now

Tornadoes
38
Deaths
19
Injuries
353
F4 and above
0
Worst on record
F3, March 20, 2003

The deadliest in Worth County

  1. F3, Mitchell and Worth counties, GeorgiaMarch 20, 20036 killed, 200 injured
  2. EF2, Baker, Mitchell, Dougherty and Worth counties, GeorgiaMarch 1, 20076 killed, 3 injured
  3. EF3, Dougherty, Worth, Turner and Wilcox counties, GeorgiaJanuary 22, 20175 killed, 88 injured
  4. F2, Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Seminole, Decatur, Mitchell and Worth counties, Florida and GeorgiaJanuary 12, 19751 killed, 33 injured
  5. F1, Mitchell, Worth, Tift and Berrien counties, GeorgiaApril 8, 19741 killed, 7 injured

The strongest

  1. EF3, Dougherty, Worth, Turner and Wilcox counties, GeorgiaJanuary 22, 2017EF3, 70.4 mi (113 km)
  2. F3, Mitchell and Worth counties, GeorgiaMarch 20, 2003F3, 25.0 mi (40 km)
  3. F3, Worth County, GeorgiaNovember 11, 1968F3, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  4. F2, Bay, Calhoun, Jackson, Seminole, Decatur, Mitchell and Worth counties, Florida and GeorgiaJanuary 12, 1975F2, 168.5 mi (271 km)
  5. F2, Dougherty, Worth and Tift counties, GeorgiaApril 3, 1961F2, 34.4 mi (55 km)
  6. EF2, Baker, Mitchell, Dougherty and Worth counties, GeorgiaMarch 1, 2007EF2, 30.5 mi (49 km)
  7. F2, Worth, Tift and Irwin counties, GeorgiaDecember 25, 1964F2, 21.2 mi (34 km)
  8. F2, Worth County, GeorgiaMarch 6, 1996F2, 10.0 mi (16 km)
  9. EF2, Worth and Mitchell counties, GeorgiaApril 20, 2020EF2, 8.7 mi (14 km)
  10. EF2, Worth County, GeorgiaMarch 1, 2007EF2, 4.5 mi (7 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 25 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Worth County. Each year links to every tornado in Georgia that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20221Unrated
20202EF2
20181EF1
20173588EF3
20091EF0
2007565EF2
200532F1
200316200F3
19991F0
19981F1
19961F2
199219F1
19912F1
19901F1
19841F1
19831F1
19781F1
19751133F2
1974217F1
197315F2
19681F3
19662F2
196413F2
196121F2
19521F2

Every tornado that crossed Worth County

38 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Georgia.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 6, 202211:17 PM EDTUnratedColquitt10.625
April 20, 20202:10 AM EDTEF2Worth8.7500$350,000
April 13, 20205:36 AM EDTEF1Tift3.6100$200,000
December 2, 20182:45 AM ESTEF1Worth1.5350$25,000
April 3, 20172:10 PM EDTEF0Worth0.010
January 22, 20173:15 PM ESTEF3Dougherty70.42,200588$310 million
January 2, 201710:32 PM ESTEF1Worth8.9600$500,000
June 4, 20098:50 PM EDTEF0Worth0.250$35,000
December 15, 20079:03 PM ESTEF0Worth3.975$750,000
April 15, 20073:23 AM EDTEF1Worth6.7200$30,000
March 1, 200712:30 AM ESTEF2Worth2.9200$500,000
March 1, 200712:20 AM ESTEF2Worth4.51502$275,000
March 1, 200711:44 PM ESTEF2Baker30.520063$4.0 million
December 28, 20055:00 PM ESTF0Worth0.330$10,000
December 28, 20054:50 PM ESTF0Worth0.225
December 5, 200511:45 AM ESTF1Worth1.1752$750,000
March 20, 20035:05 AM ESTF3Mitchell25.06006200$6.8 million
June 4, 19998:37 PM EDTF0Worth0.550$2,000
September 29, 19985:00 PM EDTF1Worth1.790$300,000
March 6, 199611:02 AM ESTF2Worth10.0200$6.0 million
November 24, 199210:25 AM ESTF1Worth11.0739$5,000 to $50,000
March 3, 19911:15 PM ESTF0Worth0.120$5,000 to $50,000
January 30, 199111:20 AM ESTF1Worth0.160$5,000 to $50,000
May 21, 19903:00 PM EDTF1Worth3.0300$50,000 to $500,000
March 5, 19844:25 PM ESTF1Mitchell7.050$50,000 to $500,000
May 16, 19838:20 AM EDTF1Worth20.0150$50,000 to $500,000
May 8, 197811:10 PM EDTF1Tift9.577$5,000 to $50,000
January 12, 197510:20 AM CSTF2Bay to GA168.5100133$500,000 to $5 million
August 1, 19745:00 PM EDTF1Worth0.117$5,000 to $50,000
April 8, 19747:15 PM EDTF1Mitchell92.625017$50,000 to $500,000
February 8, 19736:30 PM ESTF2Worth2.05005$50,000 to $500,000
November 11, 19684:00 AM GMT-5F3Worth2.0100$5,000 to $50,000
May 16, 196612:50 AM GMT-4F2Worth1.0400$5,000 to $50,000
May 16, 196612:50 AM GMT-4F2Worth0.9400$50,000 to $500,000
December 25, 19643:30 PM GMT-5F2Worth21.23003$50,000 to $500,000
April 3, 19617:20 PM GMT-5F2Dougherty34.4331$5,000 to $50,000
March 31, 196110:00 AM GMT-5F1Worth1.0400$5,000 to $50,000
January 28, 19527:30 AM GMT-5F2Worth1.0100$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Worth CountyThe forecast for Worth CountyThe live radar over Worth CountyEvery county in 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.