NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Crawford, 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 Crawford, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 51 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 16
- Tornadoes
- 51
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
4 deaths in all
What the records show for Crawford
None of the 16 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Crawford; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1949, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The record near Crawford begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm directly overhead. The 1880s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. 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 Crawford. The highest rating among the 51 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on February 18, 2009, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F2 on March 31, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 51, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 22 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 11. The most recent tornado was on August 3, 2023. Of the 405 Georgia cities, 87% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Crawford. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 33 times since 1968, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 405 Georgia cities, 75% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Crawford.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Crawford
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | overhead | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | CleoAug 30 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 8 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 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 51 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 Crawford: 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 Crawford
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s3
- 2000s13(1 EF3+)
- 1990s5
- 1980s9
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s4
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1973 | F3 | 11 mi | 18.7 mi | 1 / 65 |
| Feb 18, 2009 | EF3 | 23 mi | 19.74 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 10 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| May 6, 2003 | F2 | 22 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 12 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 4 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1976 | F2 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 13, 1966 | F2 | in town | 6.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 1954 | F2 | 16 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F1 | 19 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Aug 17, 2021 | EF1 | 18 mi | 5.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 17, 2021 | EF1 | 18 mi | 5.54 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 51, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Crawford
The Storm Prediction Center has 33 hail reports within 10 miles of Crawford since 1968, made on 24 separate days. Of these, 14 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 7, 1998. The most recent report is from May 11, 2019. May has the most reports, 8.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Crawford
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lexington, GA, 3 miles southeast of Crawford at 726 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 32°F. February is the wettest at 5.0 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 49.6 inches over 71 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (23.8 of 49.6 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 16 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 85°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 64 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 58 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.5 inches a year, most of it in February and March. That 49.6 inches is more than at 39 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (36%). Winterville, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Winterville, GA): 51.8 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and a July average high of 88°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 32 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 58 | 36 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 66 | 40 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 74 | 48 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 57 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 88 | 65 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 91 | 69 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 68 | 4.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 85 | 62 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 76 | 50 | 3.0 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 65 | 40 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 57 | 35 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Year | 74 | 50 | 49.6 | 71 | 0.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lexington, GA (726 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 Crawford
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 81 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Crawford: 76 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on June 3, 2015.
July 22, 2003: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Crawford — 2 injured, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “The Forsyth county 911 center reported that a number of trees had been blown down across the county. The Forsyth County news reported that one large tree fell on a home in Barrett Downs, causing considerable damage to the home and two people received minor injuries when trees fell on them.”
February 21, 1997: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Crawford — $500,000 damage.
May 7, 2003: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Crawford — $500,000 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
Oglethorpe County, which includes Crawford, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Oglethorpe County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $4.2 million a year, the 127th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $1.7 million (41%), 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.
Cities near Crawford
- Lexington, GA6 mi
- Winterville, GA8 mi
- Colbert, GA11 mi
- Comer, GA13 mi
- Athens, GA14 mi
- Hull, GA15 mi
- Watkinsville, GA15 mi
- Union Point, GA17 mi
- Bishop, GA20 mi
- Danielsville, GA20 mi
- Nicholson, GA20 mi
- Bogart, GA21 mi
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