NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Montezuma, 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
40 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Montezuma, Georgia since 1851, 5 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 89 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 5
- Tropical storms
- 35
- Tornadoes
- 89
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
17 deaths in all
What the records show for Montezuma
The strongest storm to pass near Montezuma was an unnamed storm in 1894, a Category 1 hurricane with 84 mph winds when its centre passed 67 miles away. The closest pass by a hurricane was Michael in 2018, whose centre came within 13 miles. The record near Montezuma begins with an unnamed storm in 1851; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a Category 1 hurricane 47 miles away. The 1880s and the 1890s were the busiest decades, with 5 systems each. Of the 40 systems, 4 have come since 2000. Montezuma has more hurricanes within 75 miles than 71% of the 405 Georgia cities on this site. The highest rating among the 89 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on March 1, 2007, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 13, 1954, killed 5 people. Of the 89, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on April 5, 2022. Montezuma has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 57% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 15 times since 1983, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 405 Georgia cities, 97% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Montezuma.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Montezuma
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 47 mi | Category 1 (78 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | NestorOct 20 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 13 mi | Category 1 (74 mph) | Category 5 |
| 2017 | IrmaSep 12 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1998 | EarlSep 3 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1985 | KateNov 22 | 62 mi | Category 1 (75 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 8 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1964 | DoraSep 12 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1956 | FlossySep 25 | 49 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1953 | FlorenceSep 27 | 61 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1950 | KingOct 19 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1947 | Unnamed 1947 stormOct 15 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormOct 7 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 12 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1929 | Unnamed 1929 stormOct 1 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1926 | Unnamed 1926 stormJul 29 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1917 | Unnamed 1917 stormSep 29 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 4 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJul 16 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1911 | Unnamed 1911 stormAug 29 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 18 | 4 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 13 mi | Tropical storm (60 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 19 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1894 | Unnamed 1894 stormOct 9 | 67 mi | Category 1 (84 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 23 | 25 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 21 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1881 | Unnamed 1881 stormAug 28 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1877 | Unnamed 1877 stormOct 3 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1871 | Unnamed 1871 stormAug 23 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1860 | Unnamed 1860 stormAug 13 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1856 | Unnamed 1856 stormAug 31 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (71 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1851 | Unnamed 1851 stormAug 24 | 30 mi | Category 1 (76 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Montezuma: 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 Montezuma
By decade
- 2020s4
- 2010s18
- 2000s16(2 EF3+)
- 1990s7(1 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s13(2 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 1954 | F3 | 25 mi | 49.5 mi | 5 / 75 |
| Mar 1, 2007 | EF3 | 6 mi | 40.14 mi | 2 / 11 |
| Feb 18, 1975 | F3 | 18 mi | 9.7 mi | 2 / 50 |
| Mar 31, 1961 | F3 | 15 mi | 1 mi | 1 / 14 |
| Mar 1, 2007 | EF3 | 8 mi | 3.06 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 15, 1999 | F3 | 16 mi | 14.5 mi | 0 / 28 |
| Apr 23, 1971 | F3 | 19 mi | 13.5 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Apr 5, 1957 | F2 | 7 mi | 75 mi | 2 / 5 |
| Mar 1, 2007 | EF2 | 17 mi | 7.69 mi | 1 / 4 |
| Apr 23, 1971 | F2 | 13 mi | 3.8 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Jan 15, 1971 | F2 | 17 mi | 2 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Dec 5, 1954 | F2 | 18 mi | 71.5 mi | 1 / 35 |
The strongest 12 of 89, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Montezuma
The Storm Prediction Center has 15 hail reports within 10 miles of Montezuma since 1983, made on 14 separate days. Of these, 11 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), fell on March 27, 2011. The most recent report is from March 15, 2024. May has the most reports, 4.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Montezuma
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Americus, GA, 24 miles southwest of Montezuma at 397 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 91°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 59°F and 35°F. July is the wettest at 6.0 inches of precipitation on average and October the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 53.4 inches over 74 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (26.0 of 53.4 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 40 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 87°F and 4.4 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 60 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 45 nights a year. That 53.4 inches is more than at 79 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (73%). Unadilla, 16 miles east, has its own station (Hawkinsville, GA): 48.6 inches a year, 4.8 less than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 91°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59 | 35 | 4.7 | 7 |
| Feb | 63 | 38 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Mar | 70 | 43 | 4.7 | 6 |
| Apr | 77 | 50 | 4.8 | 6 |
| May | 84 | 59 | 3.1 | 5 |
| Jun | 89 | 66 | 4.8 | 8 |
| Jul | 91 | 70 | 6.0 | 9 |
| Aug | 90 | 69 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Sep | 87 | 64 | 4.4 | 5 |
| Oct | 78 | 53 | 2.7 | 4 |
| Nov | 68 | 42 | 3.5 | 5 |
| Dec | 61 | 37 | 5.4 | 6 |
| Year | 76 | 52 | 53.4 | 74 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Americus, GA (397 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 Montezuma
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 63 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Montezuma: 55 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods, 3 flash floods and 1 lightning strike. None is recorded as killing or injuring anyone; the NWS estimated $388,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on March 12, 2026.
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
Macon County, which includes Montezuma, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 8 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 hurricanes, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Macon County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, strong wind, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for inland flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.9 million a year, the 109th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $2.2 million (37%), 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 Montezuma
- Oglethorpe, GA6 mi
- Unadilla, GA16 mi
- Vienna, GA18 mi
- Reynolds, GA19 mi
- Perry, GA19 mi
- Fort Valley, GA19 mi
- Ellaville, GA20 mi
- Americus, GA21 mi
- Butler, GA24 mi
- Kathleen, GA25 mi
- Cordele, GA27 mi
- Bonaire, GA28 mi
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