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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Meigs, 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

68 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Meigs, Georgia since 1851, 12 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 103 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
12

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
56

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
103

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
5

34 deaths in all

What the records show for Meigs

The strongest storm to pass near Meigs was Helene in 2024, a Category 2 hurricane with 106 mph winds when its centre passed 38 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was an unnamed storm in 1894, whose centre crossed the city. The record near Meigs begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Helene in 2024. The busiest decade was the 1870s, with 8 systems. Of the 68 systems, 12 have come since 2000. Meigs has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 84% of the 405 Georgia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 103 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on February 19, 2009, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on February 13, 2000, killed 11 people. Of the 103, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 51 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 25. The most recent tornado was on April 7, 2025. Meigs has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 75% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 28 times since 1981, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 405 Georgia cities, 81% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Meigs.

Compare Meigs's storm record with another city →

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Meigs

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Meigs, Georgia, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024HeleneSep 2738 miCategory 2 (106 mph)Category 4
2023IdaliaAug 3066 miCategory 2 (97 mph)Category 4
2022NicoleNov 1168 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1
2021MindySep 941 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2021ElsaJul 759 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 1
2019NestorOct 2012 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2018MichaelOct 1037 miCategory 2 (99 mph)Category 5
2017IrmaSep 1118 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 5
2016HermineSep 235 miTropical storm (68 mph)Category 1
2006AlbertoJun 1356 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
2004JeanneSep 279 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
2004FrancesSep 631 miTropical storm (43 mph)Category 4
1998EarlSep 39 miTropical storm (54 mph)Category 2
1996JosephineOct 868 miTropical storm (64 mph)Tropical storm
1995AllisonJun 528 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1985KateNov 222 miCategory 1 (81 mph)Category 3
1976Unnamed 1976 stormMay 2374 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1972AlphaMay 2874 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1966AlmaJun 1039 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 3
1965Unnamed 1965 stormJun 1571 miTropical storm (49 mph)Tropical storm
1964HildaOct 517 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1964DoraSep 1223 miTropical storm (52 mph)Category 4
1957Unnamed 1957 stormJun 944 miTropical storm (48 mph)Category 1
1956FlossySep 2518 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
1953FlorenceSep 2718 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1950KingOct 1920 miTropical storm (47 mph)Category 4
1949Unnamed 1949 stormAug 2868 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 4
1947Unnamed 1947 stormOct 1611 miTropical storm (41 mph)Category 2
1947Unnamed 1947 stormOct 727 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1941Unnamed 1941 stormOct 710 miTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
1937Unnamed 1937 stormAug 3163 miTropical storm (44 mph)Tropical storm
1935Unnamed 1935 stormSep 558 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 5
1933Unnamed 1933 stormSep 546 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1932Unnamed 1932 stormSep 1573 miTropical storm (55 mph)Category 1
1929Unnamed 1929 stormOct 1overheadTropical storm (63 mph)Category 4
1928Unnamed 1928 stormAug 1467 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 1
1928Unnamed 1928 stormAug 1021 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 2
1926Unnamed 1926 stormJul 2933 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 4
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 2951 miTropical storm (63 mph)Category 1
1924Unnamed 1924 stormSep 1648 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1917Unnamed 1917 stormSep 2958 miTropical storm (45 mph)Category 4
1914Unnamed 1914 stormSep 177 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1912Unnamed 1912 stormJul 1615 miTropical storm (41 mph)Tropical storm
1909Unnamed 1909 stormJun 3068 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1907Unnamed 1907 stormSep 296 miTropical storm (45 mph)Tropical storm
1907Unnamed 1907 stormJun 2927 miTropical storm (53 mph)Tropical storm
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 1550 miTropical storm (47 mph)Tropical storm
1901Unnamed 1901 stormSep 2818 miTropical storm (40 mph)Tropical storm
1901Unnamed 1901 stormSep 1867 miTropical storm (44 mph)Category 1
1894Unnamed 1894 stormOct 9overheadCategory 1 (91 mph)Category 3
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJul 120 miCategory 1 (75 mph)Category 2
1886Unnamed 1886 stormJun 2113 miCategory 1 (79 mph)Category 2
1885Unnamed 1885 stormSep 2150 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1885Unnamed 1885 stormAug 3131 miTropical storm (48 mph)Tropical storm
1881Unnamed 1881 stormAug 2863 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 2
1878Unnamed 1878 stormOct 1137 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 1
1877Unnamed 1877 stormOct 3overheadTropical storm (71 mph)Category 3
1877Unnamed 1877 stormSep 2012 miTropical storm (51 mph)Category 1
1875Unnamed 1875 stormSep 2769 miTropical storm (46 mph)Tropical storm
1873Unnamed 1873 stormSep 1946 miTropical storm (70 mph)Category 1
1871Unnamed 1871 stormOct 557 miTropical storm (49 mph)Category 1
1871Unnamed 1871 stormAug 2626 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 3
1871Unnamed 1871 stormAug 2322 miTropical storm (39 mph)Category 3
1868Unnamed 1868 stormOct 444 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 1
1860Unnamed 1860 stormAug 1335 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 3
1856Unnamed 1856 stormAug 3130 miCategory 1 (77 mph)Category 3
1852Unnamed 1852 stormOct 1031 miCategory 1 (86 mph)Category 2
1851Unnamed 1851 stormAug 2426 miCategory 1 (87 mph)Category 3

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Meigs: 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 Meigs

By decade

  • 2020s17
  • 2010s11
  • 2000s23(4 EF3+)
  • 1990s10
  • 1980s9
  • 1970s16
  • 1960s11(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s6
Strongest tornadoes near Meigs, Georgia
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Feb 13, 2000F311 mi9.2 mi11 / 175
Feb 13, 2000F32 mi15 mi7 / 15
Mar 20, 2003F313 mi25 mi6 / 200
Feb 19, 2009EF324 mi1.45 mi0 / 0
Nov 11, 1968F320 mi2 mi0 / 0
Mar 1, 2007EF224 mi30.53 mi6 / 3
Oct 1, 1989F28 mi10 mi2 / 12
Jan 12, 1975F212 mi168.5 mi1 / 33
Dec 15, 2022EF217 mi1.96 mi0 / 0
Apr 20, 2020EF224 mi8.72 mi0 / 0
Mar 3, 2019EF216 mi2.68 mi0 / 2
Jan 22, 2017EF213 mi18.67 mi0 / 3

The strongest 12 of 103, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

Hail in Meigs

The Storm Prediction Center has 28 hail reports within 10 miles of Meigs since 1981, made on 21 separate days. Of these, 21 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on December 28, 2005. The most recent report is from November 9, 2025. March has the most reports, 8.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.

Weather by month in Meigs

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Camilla 3 SE, GA, 11 miles northwest of Meigs at 175 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 72°F; January is the coolest, at 60°F and 38°F. June is the wettest at 5.6 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 51.7 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 51% of the year's precipitation (26.2 of 51.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 68 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (24); a normal September there has highs of 86°F and 4.0 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 33 nights a year. That 51.7 inches is more than at 63 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (58%). Ochlocknee, 7 miles south, has its own station (Cairo 1SW, GA): 51.0 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.

Monthly climate normals 1991–2020 at Camilla 3 SE, GA
MonthHigh °FLow °FPrecip. inDays ≥ 0.1"
Jan60385.07
Feb64414.86
Mar70465.26
Apr77534.05
May84622.34
Jun89695.68
Jul90725.39
Aug90715.38
Sep86674.05
Oct79562.84
Nov70453.25
Dec63404.26
Year775551.772

Averages for 1991–2020 at Camilla 3 SE, GA (175 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.

Georgia weather by month, station by station →

Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Meigs

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 94 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Meigs: 82 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $662,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on January 4, 2015. April has had the most flash floods, 6 of 11. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 206 have had fewer than Meigs.

  • January 4, 2015: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Meigs — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.

  • February 13, 2007: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Meigs — $250,000 damage.

  • August 23, 2008: flash flood 5 miles from the centre of Meigs — $200,000 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

Mitchell County, which includes Meigs, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 5 severe storms, 3 tropical storms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Hurricane Helene, on September 30, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Mitchell County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $15.5 million a year, the 50th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $4.9 million (32%), is from hurricanes.

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 Meigs