NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Athens, GA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Athens, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Athens
None of the 15 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Athens; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1949, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The record near Athens begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 12 miles away. The 1880s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 15 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Athens. The strongest of the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 28, 1973; its path passed within a mile of the city centre, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F2 on March 31, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 62, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 23 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on August 17, 2021. Of the 405 Georgia cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Athens. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 89 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Athens has more hail reports within 10 miles than 74% of the 405 Georgia cities.
Compare Athens's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Athens
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 32 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Athens: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Athens
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s6
- 2000s12
- 1990s10
- 1980s10
- 1970s10(1 EF3+)
- 1960s6
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1973 | F3 | in town | 18.7 mi | 1 / 65 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | in town | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Sep 16, 2004 | F2 | 24 mi | 5.5 mi | 1 / 1 |
| May 6, 2003 | F2 | 25 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 16 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1976 | F2 | in town | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 14, 1976 | F2 | 23 mi | 8.4 mi | 0 / 2 |
| May 1, 1966 | F2 | 20 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 13, 1966 | F2 | 12 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 1954 | F2 | 15 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Feb 29, 1952 | F2 | 20 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 5 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Athens
The Storm Prediction Center has 89 hail reports within 10 miles of Athens since 1968, made on 59 separate days. Of these, 54 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 4, 1999. The most recent report is from May 6, 2024. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Athens
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Athens Ben Epps Airport, GA, 3 miles east of Athens at 785 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 34°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and May and October the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 49.1 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (24.7 of 49.1 inches). September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 85°F and 3.9 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 62 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 46 nights a year. That 49.1 inches is more than at 35 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (32%). Winterville, 7 miles east, has its own station (Winterville, GA): 51.8 inches a year, 2.7 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 34 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Feb | 59 | 37 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Mar | 67 | 43 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 75 | 50 | 3.5 | 6 |
| May | 82 | 59 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Jun | 89 | 67 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Jul | 92 | 70 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Aug | 90 | 69 | 4.6 | 6 |
| Sep | 85 | 63 | 3.9 | 5 |
| Oct | 75 | 52 | 3.3 | 4 |
| Nov | 65 | 42 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Dec | 57 | 36 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Year | 74 | 52 | 49.1 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Athens Ben Epps Airport, GA (785 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Athens
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 209 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Athens: 182 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 lightning strikes, 11 flash floods, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on March 21, 2017. August has had the most flash floods, 3 of 11. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 206 have had fewer than Athens.
November 24, 2004: thunderstorm wind in Athens — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
NWS: “The Gwinnett County Emergency Management Director reported that a number of trees and several power lines were down from Lawrenceville to Snellville. Two homes suffered significant damage when large trees fell on the structures.”
May 9, 2023: thunderstorm wind in Athens — 1 injured.
NWS: “Report of tree falling on person and injuring them near the Oconnee Hill Cemetery.”
June 7, 2025: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Athens — 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Athens's 4 ZIP codes have filed 36 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $204,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 6% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 154 Georgia cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 74 have fewer than Athens.
Clarke County, which includes Athens, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clarke County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $28.7 million a year, the 31st highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $14.9 million (52%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.