NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rex, 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
19 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Rex, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 125 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 19
- Tornadoes
- 125
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
15 deaths in all
What the records show for Rex
None of the 19 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rex; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 65 miles away. The record near Rex 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 19 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 54% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Rex. The strongest of the 125 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on March 25, 2021; its path came within 19 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on January 12, 2023, killed 4 people. Of the 125, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 70 have come since 2000. April and May have had the most tornadoes, 17 each. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Rex has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 95% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 113 times since 1977, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Rex has more hail reports within 10 miles than 82% of the 405 Georgia cities.
Compare Rex's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rex
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 72 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 1 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 26 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 47 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 56 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 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 45 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 Rex: 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 Rex
By decade
- 2020s32(2 EF3+)
- 2010s24(1 EF3+)
- 2000s14
- 1990s10
- 1980s19
- 1970s13(3 EF3+)
- 1960s11(1 EF3+)
- 1950s2
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF4 | 19 mi | 38.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 24, 1975 | F3 | 19 mi | 14.8 mi | 3 / 152 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 16 mi | 21.68 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 1972 | F3 | 8 mi | 6.3 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 20 mi | 31.16 mi | 0 / 18 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 16 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 24, 1964 | F3 | 7 mi | 75.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 23 mi | 125.76 mi | 4 / 40 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 2 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Mar 14, 2008 | EF2 | 11 mi | 6.25 mi | 1 / 30 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 25 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Dec 5, 1954 | F2 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 1 / 40 |
The strongest 12 of 125, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rex
The Storm Prediction Center has 113 hail reports within 10 miles of Rex since 1977, made on 74 separate days. Of these, 65 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on February 18, 2009. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. June has the most reports, 22.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rex
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jonesboro, GA, 6 miles southwest of Rex at 930 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 70°F; January is the coolest, at 53°F and 32°F. July is the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 3.5 inches; the year adds up to 53.1 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 48% of the year's precipitation (25.5 of 53.1 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 19 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (10); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 3.6 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 59 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 49 nights a year. Snowfall averages 0.8 inches a year, most of it in January. That 53.1 inches is more than at 76 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (70%). Conley, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, GA): 50.6 inches a year, 2.5 less than here, and the same July average high, 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 53 | 32 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| Feb | 57 | 35 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 65 | 42 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Apr | 73 | 49 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 67 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 90 | 70 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 89 | 69 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 73 | 52 | 3.6 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 62 | 41 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 55 | 35 | 5.0 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Year | 72 | 51 | 53.1 | 80 | 0.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Jonesboro, GA (930 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 Rex
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 233 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rex: 201 thunderstorm wind reports, 18 flash floods, 11 lightning strikes, 2 floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 2 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $10.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 23, 2019. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 18. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 294 have had fewer than Rex.
March 1, 2021: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Rex — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
January 9, 2024: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Rex — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
April 4, 2011: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Rex — 1 injured, $500,000 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
Clayton County, which includes Rex, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 7 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 2 tropical storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Clayton County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Relatively Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $59.9 million a year, the 9th highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $30.2 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.