NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Riverdale, 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
18 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Riverdale, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 18
- Tornadoes
- 138
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Riverdale
None of the 18 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Riverdale; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The record near Riverdale 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 18 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 58% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Riverdale. The strongest of the 138 tornadoes within 25 miles was an EF4 on March 25, 2021; its path came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on March 24, 1975, killed 3 people. Of the 138, 12 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 76 have come since 2000. March has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on May 29, 2025. Riverdale has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 99% of the 405 Georgia cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 179 times since 1955, with stones up to 4.5 inches (grapefruit size). Riverdale has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 405 Georgia cities.
Compare Riverdale's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Riverdale
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2020 | ZetaOct 29 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1975 | EloiseSep 23 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (59 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormSep 5 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1903 | Unnamed 1903 stormSep 15 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 21 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 24 mi | Tropical storm (53 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 60 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1887 | Unnamed 1887 stormJul 28 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 15 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 46 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 Riverdale: 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 Riverdale
By decade
- 2020s33(2 EF3+)
- 2010s25(1 EF3+)
- 2000s18
- 1990s12(2 EF3+)
- 1980s20(1 EF3+)
- 1970s14(3 EF3+)
- 1960s12(1 EF3+)
- 1950s4
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25, 2021 | EF4 | 11 mi | 38.56 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 24, 1975 | F3 | 16 mi | 14.8 mi | 3 / 152 |
| Apr 27, 2011 | EF3 | 17 mi | 21.68 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jan 10, 1972 | F3 | 8 mi | 6.3 mi | 1 / 9 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF3 | 23 mi | 31.16 mi | 0 / 18 |
| Feb 21, 1993 | F3 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Mar 29, 1991 | F3 | 23 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Mar 5, 1989 | F3 | 18 mi | 14 mi | 0 / 23 |
| May 27, 1973 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 24, 1964 | F3 | 5 mi | 75.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 6 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Mar 14, 2008 | EF2 | 13 mi | 6.25 mi | 1 / 30 |
The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Riverdale
The Storm Prediction Center has 179 hail reports within 10 miles of Riverdale since 1955, made on 121 separate days. Of these, 101 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.5 inches (grapefruit size), fell on April 25, 1988. The most recent report is from June 27, 2025. June has the most reports, 36.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Riverdale
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Jonesboro, GA, 4 miles southeast of Riverdale 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 18 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%). Forest Park, 5 miles northeast, 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 Riverdale
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 280 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Riverdale: 234 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 lightning strikes, 14 flash floods, 5 floods and 3 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $13.2 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 14. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 258 have had fewer than Riverdale.
March 1, 2021: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Riverdale — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
NWS: “The local print media reported a large limb fell onto a truck outside of a home on Lakeview Drive. A man getting into the truck was struck and killed by the falling limb.”
January 9, 2024: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Riverdale — 1 killed, $1,000 damage.
June 8, 2022: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Riverdale — 5 injured.
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 Riverdale's 2 ZIP codes have filed 122 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Helene in 2024: 14 claims (11% of all) and $471,000, then Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994 with 14 and Tropical Storm Ivan in 2004 with 14. The year with the most claims was 2005, with 23. 52% 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, 123 have fewer than Riverdale.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Helene2024 | 14 | $471,000 |
| Tropical Storm Alberto1994 | 14 | $66,000 |
| Tropical Storm Ivan2004 | 14 | $94,000 |
| Hurricane Dennis2005 | 11 | $62,000 |
Clayton County, which includes Riverdale, 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.