NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Covington, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Covington, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 76 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 4 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 76
- EF3 or stronger
- 4
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Covington
None of the 19 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Covington; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1949, a tropical storm with 63 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The record near Covington begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 44 miles away. The 1890s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 19 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 54% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Covington. The highest rating among the 76 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 4 times; the most recent, on January 12, 2023, came within 14 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on January 12, 2023, killed 4 people. Of the 76, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 14. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Of the 405 Georgia cities, 59% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Covington. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 61 times since 1985, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Covington has more hail reports within 10 miles than 53% of the 405 Georgia cities.
Compare Covington's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Covington
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 12 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 39 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 Covington: 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 Covington
By decade
- 2020s18(1 EF3+)
- 2010s12(1 EF3+)
- 2000s13
- 1990s8
- 1980s8
- 1970s7(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 25 mi | 30.82 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Jan 10, 1972 | F3 | 25 mi | 6.3 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 14 mi | 31.16 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Dec 24, 1964 | F3 | 5 mi | 75.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 11 mi | 125.76 mi | 4 / 40 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 10 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| May 29, 2025 | EF2 | 17 mi | 1.82 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 10 mi | 9.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | EF2 | 10 mi | 7.64 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF2 | 6 mi | 17.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 6, 2005 | F2 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 76, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Covington
The Storm Prediction Center has 61 hail reports within 10 miles of Covington since 1985, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 12, 1996. The most recent report is from June 15, 2020. June has the most reports, 12.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Covington
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Covington, GA, 4 miles northeast of Covington at 769 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 34°F. February and March are the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 50.5 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 50.5 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (9); a normal September there has highs of 84°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 52 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 62 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 50.5 inches is more than at 48 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (44%). Newborn, 14 miles east, has its own station (Monticello, GA): 46.7 inches a year, 3.8 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 34 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 57 | 37 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 65 | 43 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 74 | 50 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 67 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 71 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 71 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 64 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 53 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 41 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 36 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Year | 72 | 52 | 50.5 | 72 | 1.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Covington, GA (769 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 Covington
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 131 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Covington: 113 thunderstorm wind reports, 6 flash floods, 5 heavy rain events, 5 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $3.3 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on April 3, 2017. December has had the most flash floods, 4 of 6. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 109 have had fewer than Covington.
June 25, 2018: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Covington — 1 killed, 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “The Newton County Emergency Manager reported that dozens of trees were blown down at the Bert Adams Boy Scout Camp south of Covington. One of the trees fell onto a tent occupied by two scouts.”
December 30, 2015: flash flood 4 miles from the centre of Covington — $781,000 damage.
September 21, 2009: flood 9 miles from the centre of Covington — $700,000 damage.
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 Covington's 2 ZIP codes have filed 31 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1992, and were paid $439,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 42% 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, 64 have fewer than Covington.
Newton County, which includes Covington, has been named in 21 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Newton County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $22.8 million a year, the 35th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $13.3 million (58%), 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.