NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brookhaven, 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
16 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Brookhaven, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 117 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 117
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Brookhaven
None of the 16 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Brookhaven; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 52 miles away. The record near Brookhaven begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 67 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 4 systems. Of the 16 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 67% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Brookhaven. The strongest of the 117 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on November 22, 1992; its path came within 17 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 24, 1975, killed 3 people. Of the 117, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 49 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on December 29, 2024. Brookhaven has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 206 times since 1960, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Brookhaven has more hail reports within 10 miles than 98% of the 405 Georgia cities.
Compare Brookhaven's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Brookhaven
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 66 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 Brookhaven: 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 Brookhaven
By decade
- 2020s14
- 2010s21
- 2000s14
- 1990s19(3 EF3+)
- 1980s16
- 1970s20(3 EF3+)
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 17 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 46 |
| Mar 24, 1975 | F3 | 1 mi | 14.8 mi | 3 / 152 |
| Jan 10, 1972 | F3 | 12 mi | 6.3 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 10 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F3 | 14 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 14 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1962 | F3 | 21 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 21 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Mar 14, 2008 | EF2 | 9 mi | 6.25 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Apr 8, 1998 | F2 | 5 mi | 19 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 18 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1954 | F2 | 13 mi | 0.5 mi | 1 / 40 |
The strongest 12 of 117, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brookhaven
The Storm Prediction Center has 206 hail reports within 10 miles of Brookhaven since 1960, made on 130 separate days. Of these, 109 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 3 days, most recently February 18, 2009. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. April has the most reports, 47.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brookhaven
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Atlanta Peachtree Airport, GA, 2 miles east of Brookhaven at 1,002 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 33°F. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 50% of the year's precipitation (25.6 of 51.5 inches). September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 4.1 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 53 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 49 nights a year. That 51.5 inches is more than at 61 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (56%). Atlanta, 7 miles southwest, has its own station (Atlanta Fulton Co Airport, GA): 48.1 inches a year, 3.4 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 33 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Feb | 56 | 36 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Mar | 64 | 42 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Apr | 73 | 49 | 3.9 | 7 |
| May | 80 | 59 | 3.8 | 7 |
| Jun | 86 | 66 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Jul | 89 | 70 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Aug | 88 | 69 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 4.1 | 5 |
| Oct | 73 | 51 | 3.4 | 4 |
| Nov | 63 | 41 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Dec | 54 | 36 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Year | 72 | 51 | 51.5 | 77 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Atlanta Peachtree Airport, GA (1,002 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 Brookhaven
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 420 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brookhaven: 304 thunderstorm wind reports, 84 flash floods, 17 lightning strikes, 8 floods and 7 heavy rain events. They killed 5 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $28.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 85 mph, on January 4, 2015. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 390 have had fewer than Brookhaven.
May 26, 2011: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Brookhaven — 2 killed, $100,000 damage.
September 21, 2009: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Brookhaven — 1 killed, $630,000 damage.
October 31, 2019: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Brookhaven — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “The Fulton County Emergency Manager reported that a very large tree was blown down onto Mt. Paran Road NW between Jett Road NW and Rebel Trail NW.”
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 Brookhaven's ZIP code 30319 have filed 196 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.7 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Late summer storms in 2009: 30 claims (15% of all) and $721,000, then Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 30. The year with the most claims was 2003, with 34. 36% 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, 138 have fewer than Brookhaven.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Late summer storms2009 | 30 | $721,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 30 | $338,000 |
DeKalb County, which includes Brookhaven, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 4 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives DeKalb County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for lightning; Relatively High for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $153.3 million a year, the 5th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $96.6 million (63%), 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.