NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rutledge, 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 Rutledge, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 62 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 18
- Tornadoes
- 62
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
9 deaths in all
What the records show for Rutledge
None of the 18 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Rutledge; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1949, a tropical storm with 62 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The record near Rutledge begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 27 miles away. The busiest decade was the 1890s, with 4 systems. 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 Rutledge. The highest rating among the 62 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on May 28, 1973, came within 18 miles. The deadliest, an EF2 on January 12, 2023, killed 4 people. Of the 62, one had a path within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on May 3, 2025. Of the 405 Georgia cities, 75% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Rutledge. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 40 times since 1969, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 405 Georgia cities, 64% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Rutledge.
Compare Rutledge's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Rutledge
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 27 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (56 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (62 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1940 | Unnamed 1940 stormAug 12 | 70 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormOct 3 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (49 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1898 | Unnamed 1898 stormSep 1 | 66 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 34 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 65 mi | Tropical storm (48 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 10 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 39 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 Rutledge: 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 Rutledge
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s7
- 2000s12
- 1990s9
- 1980s7
- 1970s8(1 EF3+)
- 1960s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1973 | F3 | 18 mi | 18.7 mi | 1 / 65 |
| Dec 24, 1964 | F3 | 16 mi | 75.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jan 12, 2023 | EF2 | 13 mi | 125.76 mi | 4 / 40 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 14 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 22 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | EF2 | 20 mi | 9.47 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | EF2 | 5 mi | 7.64 mi | 0 / 1 |
| May 11, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 17.51 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1989 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 18, 1969 | F2 | 11 mi | 15.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 6, 1967 | F2 | 11 mi | 0.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 62, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Rutledge
The Storm Prediction Center has 40 hail reports within 10 miles of Rutledge since 1969, made on 35 separate days. Of these, 23 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 8 days, most recently March 18, 2013. The most recent report is from June 24, 2015. April has the most reports, 11.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Rutledge
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Covington, GA, 13 miles west of Rutledge at 769 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 89°F and low of 71°F; January is the coolest, at 52°F and 34°F. February and March are the wettest at 5.1 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 2.9 inches; the year adds up to 50.5 inches over 72 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 49% of the year's precipitation (24.5 of 50.5 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 18 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (7); a normal September there has highs of 84°F and 3.8 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 52 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 62 nights a year. Snowfall averages 1.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 50.5 inches is more than at 48 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (44%). Madison, 8 miles east, has its own station (Watkinsville 5 SSE, GA): 47.8 inches a year, 2.7 less than here, and a July average high of 90°F against 89°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52 | 34 | 4.6 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 57 | 37 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.3 |
| Mar | 65 | 43 | 5.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 74 | 50 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.0 |
| May | 81 | 59 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 87 | 67 | 4.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 89 | 71 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 71 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 84 | 64 | 3.8 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 74 | 53 | 3.2 | 4 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 63 | 41 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 56 | 36 | 4.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Year | 72 | 52 | 50.5 | 72 | 1.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Covington, GA (769 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 Rutledge
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 141 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rutledge: 124 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 flash floods, 4 lightning strikes and 1 flood. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on April 3, 2017. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 12. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 223 have had fewer than Rutledge.
July 22, 2003: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Rutledge — 1 killed.
June 19, 2014: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Rutledge — 1 injured, $40,000 damage.
NWS: “The Morgan County Emergency Manager and 911 Center reported that a chicken house collapsed on Fairplay Road. Four trees were blown down in the Rutledge area, and another fell across Monticello Highway near Little Indian Creek.”
August 20, 2002: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Rutledge — $450,000 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
Morgan County, which includes Rutledge, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 5 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 ice storms, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Morgan County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $8.2 million a year, the 92nd highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.2 million (64%), 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.