NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mcdonough, 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
20 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Mcdonough, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 110 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 20
- Tornadoes
- 110
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for Mcdonough
None of the 20 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mcdonough; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 57 miles away. The record near Mcdonough begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024. The 1890s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 4 systems each. Of the 20 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 53% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Mcdonough. The strongest of the 110 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on March 25, 2021; its path came within 25 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on January 12, 2023, killed 4 people. Of the 110, 7 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 69 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Mcdonough has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 83% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1976, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Mcdonough has more hail reports within 10 miles than 75% of the 405 Georgia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mcdonough
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 12 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 52 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 68 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | overhead | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 35 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 Mcdonough: 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 Mcdonough
By decade
- 2020s28(2 EF3+)
- 2010s21(2 EF3+)
- 2000s20
- 1990s6
- 1980s13
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF4 | 25 mi | 38.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 24 mi | 30.82 mi | 2 / 22 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 10 mi | 21.68 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 1972 | F3 | 19 mi | 6.3 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 9 mi | 31.16 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Dec 24, 1964 | F3 | 2 mi | 75.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 12 mi | 125.76 mi | 4 / 40 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 10 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Mar 14, 2008 | EF2 | 22 mi | 6.25 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Dec 5, 1954 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.5 mi | 1 / 40 |
| May 29, 2025 | EF2 | 4 mi | 1.82 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 14 mi | 9.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 110, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mcdonough
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Mcdonough since 1976, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 53 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 18, 2013. The most recent report is from March 26, 2023. June has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mcdonough
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Mcdonough 5 ENE, GA, 6 miles east of Mcdonough 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 20 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%). Stockbridge, 8 miles northwest, has its own station (Jonesboro, GA): 53.1 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 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 Mcdonough
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 137 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mcdonough: 121 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 lightning strikes, 5 flash floods, 2 floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on July 6, 2012. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 86 have had fewer than Mcdonough.
June 29, 2010: lightning strike 1 mile from the centre of Mcdonough — 1 killed, 1 injured.
NWS: “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a 14-year old male was struck by lightning while standing outside his home in the Huntington Ridge subdivision in McDonough. The boy died overnight in the hospital following the incident.”
April 4, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Mcdonough — 1 injured, $500,000 damage.
July 3, 2012: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Mcdonough — 1 injured.
NWS: “The Henry County Emergency Manager reported that severe thunderstorm winds blew over seven tractor trailers near the intersection of Highway 42 and King Mill Road. An individual inside one of the vehicles was transported to the hospital with minor injuries.”
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 Mcdonough's 2 ZIP codes have filed 39 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1994, and were paid $552,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2024, with 10. 23% 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, 78 have fewer than Mcdonough.
Henry County, which includes Mcdonough, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 severe storms, 3 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on January 16, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Henry County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for lightning; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding and strong wind; Relatively Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $51.6 million a year, the 12th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $31.3 million (61%), 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 Mcdonough
- Locust Grove, GA8 mi
- Stockbridge, GA8 mi
- Hampton, GA10 mi
- Rex, GA12 mi
- Jonesboro, GA13 mi
- Morrow, GA14 mi
- Jackson, GA15 mi
- Ellenwood, GA15 mi
- Conyers, GA15 mi
- Covington, GA15 mi
- Griffin, GA17 mi
- Conley, GA17 mi
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