NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Jackson, 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
22 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Jackson, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 95 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 22
- Tornadoes
- 95
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
10 deaths in all
What the records show for Jackson
None of the 22 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Jackson; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 64 mph winds when its centre passed 49 miles away. The record near Jackson begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024. The busiest decade was the 1900s, with 5 systems. Of the 22 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Jackson has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 49% of the 405 Georgia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 95 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 6 times; the most recent, on January 12, 2023, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on January 12, 2023, killed 4 people. Of the 95, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 63 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Jackson has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 66% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1963, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Jackson has more hail reports within 10 miles than 54% of the 405 Georgia cities.
Compare Jackson's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Jackson
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (64 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (63 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 12 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 18 | 64 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 39 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 30 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 22 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 Jackson: 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 Jackson
By decade
- 2020s22(3 EF3+)
- 2010s22(2 EF3+)
- 2000s19
- 1990s7
- 1980s8
- 1970s5
- 1960s7(1 EF3+)
- 1950s5
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 9 mi | 30.82 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 17 mi | 21.68 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 6 mi | 31.16 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Apr 13, 2020 | EF3 | 15 mi | 5.3 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 13, 2020 | EF3 | 22 mi | 16.63 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 24, 1964 | F3 | 13 mi | 75.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 3 mi | 125.76 mi | 4 / 40 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 24 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| May 29, 2025 | EF2 | 12 mi | 1.82 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 22 mi | 21.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | EF2 | 20 mi | 7.64 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF2 | 19 mi | 17.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 95, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Jackson
The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Jackson since 1963, made on 47 separate days. Of these, 29 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 10 days, most recently April 10, 2009. The most recent report is from June 4, 2023. May has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Jackson
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mcdonough 5 ENE, GA, 13 miles north of Jackson at 708 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 92°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 55°F and 32°F. March is the wettest at 5.4 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 3.3 inches; the year adds up to 51.2 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 47% of the year's precipitation (24.2 of 51.2 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 22 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 85°F and 3.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 74 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 68 nights a year. That 51.2 inches is more than at 59 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (55%). Flovilla, 6 miles southeast, has its own station (Monticello, GA): 46.7 inches a year, 4.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 92°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 55 | 32 | 5.3 | 6 |
| Feb | 59 | 34 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Mar | 67 | 40 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Apr | 76 | 47 | 3.8 | 6 |
| May | 83 | 56 | 3.3 | 6 |
| Jun | 89 | 65 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Jul | 92 | 69 | 4.4 | 8 |
| Aug | 91 | 68 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Sep | 85 | 62 | 3.7 | 5 |
| Oct | 75 | 50 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Nov | 64 | 39 | 3.7 | 6 |
| Dec | 56 | 34 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Year | 74 | 50 | 51.2 | 76 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Mcdonough 5 ENE, GA (708 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 Jackson
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 149 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Jackson: 138 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 lightning strikes, 4 flash floods, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 70 mph, on January 12, 2023.
April 4, 2011: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Jackson — 2 killed, $200,000 damage.
November 11, 2002: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Jackson — 1 injured, $450,000 damage.
NWS: “The Butts county Emergency Management Director and the local newspaper, the Jackson Progress Argus, reported that extensive damage occurred to five homes and two apartment buildings. Two of the structures had the roofs removed.”
June 22, 2009: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Jackson — $550,000 damage.
NWS: “The Butts County Emergency Management Director reported that an apparent thunderstorm downburst or microburst caused extensive damage to trees, power lines, and property in the northeastern part of the county from the Henry county line, just northwest of Fincherville to the south side of Lake Jackson along the…”
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 Jackson's ZIP code 30233 have filed 57 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1994, and were paid $1.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 22 claims (39% of all) and $1.4 million, then Early winter storms in 2015 with 11. 75% 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, 93 have fewer than Jackson.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 22 | $1.4 million |
| Early winter storms2015 | 11 | $260,000 |
Butts County, which includes Jackson, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 4 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 Butts County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $6.1 million a year, the 106th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.0 million (50%), 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.