NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Dawsonville, 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
11 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Dawsonville, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 11
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Dawsonville
None of the 11 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Dawsonville; the strongest was Zeta in 2020, a tropical storm with 55 mph winds when its centre passed 30 miles away. The record near Dawsonville begins with an unnamed storm in 1859; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 44 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 3 systems. Of the 11 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 87% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Dawsonville. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on March 27, 1994, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 20, 1998, killed 12 people. Of the 79, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 32 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 2, 2025. Of the 405 Georgia cities, 55% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Dawsonville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 72 times since 1963, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Dawsonville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 405 Georgia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Dawsonville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormOct 17 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Dawsonville: 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 Dawsonville
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s9(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s17(7 EF3+)
- 1980s9
- 1970s10(3 EF3+)
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 6 mi | 17.7 mi | 6 / 30 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F4 | 11 mi | 49 mi | 3 / 20 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 25 mi | 20 mi | 0 / 46 |
| Mar 20, 1998 | F3 | 12 mi | 4 mi | 12 / 171 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F3 | 16 mi | 40 mi | 9 / 70 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F3 | 12 mi | 23 mi | 3 / 15 |
| Mar 27, 1994 | F3 | 8 mi | 44 mi | 3 / 45 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 20 mi | 36.99 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F3 | 15 mi | 10 mi | 1 / 7 |
| Dec 13, 1973 | F3 | 16 mi | 9.5 mi | 0 / 21 |
| Apr 2, 1970 | F3 | 7 mi | 6.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 21, 1962 | F3 | 25 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Dawsonville
The Storm Prediction Center has 72 hail reports within 10 miles of Dawsonville since 1963, made on 54 separate days. Of these, 39 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 15, 2008. The most recent report is from April 10, 2025. April has the most reports, 20.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Dawsonville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cumming 2N, GA, 13 miles south of Dawsonville at 1,140 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 67°F; January is the coolest, at 51°F and 31°F. January is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and September and October the driest at 4.0 inches; the year adds up to 56.4 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (26.9 of 56.4 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 11 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 82°F and 4.0 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 32 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 67 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.6 inches a year, most of it in March. That 56.4 inches is more than at 90 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (83%). Dahlonega, 11 miles northeast, has its own station (Cleveland, GA): 65.4 inches a year, 9.0 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 51 | 31 | 5.4 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 56 | 33 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 63 | 40 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Apr | 72 | 46 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| May | 79 | 56 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 64 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 67 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 67 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 60 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 49 | 4.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 39 | 4.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 54 | 34 | 5.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Year | 71 | 49 | 56.4 | 87 | 0.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cumming 2N, GA (1,140 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 Dawsonville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 151 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Dawsonville: 127 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes and 3 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $2.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on July 20, 2023. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 271 have had fewer than Dawsonville.
July 11, 2014: lightning strike in Dawsonville — 1 killed.
NWS: “The Lumpkin County Emergency Manager reported that a woman was struck by lightning while trimming hedges at a location off Crawford Falls Road off GA Highway 9. The woman was transported to the hospital and died as a result of her injuries on July 15, 2014.”
July 26, 2010: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Dawsonville — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
NWS: “The Dawson County Emergency Management Director reported that two trees were blown down along Old Savannah Place off Thompson Road. One of the trees fell on a trailer causing significant damage to the trailer and injuring a woman inside.”
July 5, 2017: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Dawsonville — 1 injured, $6,000 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
Dawson County, which includes Dawsonville, has been named in 20 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Dawson County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, inland flooding and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $9.3 million a year, the 76th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.8 million (51%), 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 Dawsonville
- Dahlonega, GA11 mi
- Murrayville, GA13 mi
- Cumming, GA14 mi
- Ball Ground, GA16 mi
- Gainesville, GA17 mi
- Oakwood, GA18 mi
- Jasper, GA18 mi
- Clermont, GA19 mi
- Flowery Branch, GA19 mi
- Buford, GA23 mi
- Cleveland, GA23 mi
- Talking Rock, GA24 mi
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