NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Watkinsville, 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
15 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Watkinsville, Georgia since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 58 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 15
- Tornadoes
- 58
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Watkinsville
None of the 15 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Watkinsville; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1949, a tropical storm with 61 mph winds when its centre passed 51 miles away. The record near Watkinsville begins with an unnamed storm in 1852; the most recent system was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm 14 miles away. The 1880s and the 1900s were the busiest decades, with 3 systems each. Of the 15 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 405 Georgia cities on this site, 73% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Watkinsville. The strongest of the 58 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 28, 1973; its path came within 6 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F2 on March 31, 1973, killed 2 people. Of the 58, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 21 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 12. The most recent tornado was on August 17, 2021. Of the 405 Georgia cities, 79% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Watkinsville. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1984, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Watkinsville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 62% of the 405 Georgia cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Watkinsville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 27 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2018 | MichaelOct 11 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (55 mph) | Category 5 |
| 1965 | Unnamed 1965 stormJun 15 | 55 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1949 | Unnamed 1949 stormAug 28 | 51 mi | Tropical storm (61 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1912 | Unnamed 1912 stormJun 14 | 3 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1907 | Unnamed 1907 stormSep 23 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormOct 11 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1901 | Unnamed 1901 stormSep 28 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1896 | Unnamed 1896 stormJul 8 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1893 | Unnamed 1893 stormOct 3 | 20 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1889 | Unnamed 1889 stormSep 24 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1886 | Unnamed 1886 stormJun 22 | 62 mi | Tropical storm (47 mph) | Category 2 |
| 1882 | Unnamed 1882 stormSep 11 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1859 | Unnamed 1859 stormSep 16 | 2 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1852 | Unnamed 1852 stormAug 27 | 52 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 Watkinsville: 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 Watkinsville
By decade
- 2020s5
- 2010s8
- 2000s8
- 1990s10
- 1980s10
- 1970s9(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s3
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 28, 1973 | F3 | 6 mi | 18.7 mi | 1 / 65 |
| Mar 31, 1973 | F2 | 5 mi | 72.4 mi | 2 / 100 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 24 mi | 8 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Apr 19, 2013 | EF2 | 24 mi | 7.64 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Aug 16, 1994 | F2 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F2 | 9 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 28, 1976 | F2 | 7 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 13, 1966 | F2 | 14 mi | 6.9 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 31, 1954 | F2 | 21 mi | 17.5 mi | 0 / 25 |
| Feb 29, 1952 | F2 | 24 mi | 0.2 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Jun 27, 1994 | F1 | 9 mi | 2.5 mi | 1 / 3 |
| Aug 17, 2021 | EF1 | 22 mi | 5.94 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 58, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Watkinsville
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Watkinsville since 1984, made on 46 separate days. Of these, 42 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 4, 1999. The most recent report is from July 3, 2022. June has the most reports, 17.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Watkinsville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Watkinsville 5 SSE, GA, 5 miles south of Watkinsville at 741 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 90°F and low of 69°F; January is the coolest, at 54°F and 34°F. December is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and May the driest at 2.7 inches; the year adds up to 47.8 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 (23.4 of 47.8 inches); the other six months are wetter. September has brought the most of the 15 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (6); a normal September there has highs of 83°F and 4.0 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 45 nights a year. That 47.8 inches is more than at 21 of the 108 Georgia stations used on this site (19%). Athens, 7 miles north, has its own station (Athens Ben Epps Airport, GA): 49.1 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and a July average high of 92°F against 90°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 54 | 34 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Feb | 58 | 37 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Mar | 65 | 43 | 4.6 | 7 |
| Apr | 73 | 49 | 3.6 | 6 |
| May | 81 | 58 | 2.7 | 5 |
| Jun | 87 | 66 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Jul | 90 | 69 | 3.8 | 6 |
| Aug | 88 | 68 | 4.3 | 7 |
| Sep | 83 | 63 | 4.0 | 4 |
| Oct | 74 | 52 | 3.4 | 4 |
| Nov | 64 | 42 | 3.6 | 5 |
| Dec | 56 | 37 | 4.9 | 7 |
| Year | 73 | 51 | 47.8 | 72 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Watkinsville 5 SSE, GA (741 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 Watkinsville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 177 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Watkinsville: 159 thunderstorm wind reports, 8 flash floods, 6 lightning strikes, 3 heavy rain events and 1 flood. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $1.8 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 75 mph, on March 18, 2020. August has had the most flash floods, 4 of 8. Of the 392 Georgia cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 150 have had fewer than Watkinsville.
November 24, 2004: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Watkinsville — 1 injured, $100,000 damage.
May 9, 2023: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Watkinsville — 1 injured.
August 17, 2005: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Watkinsville — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “The Oconee County Emergency Management Director reported that an apparent microburst or downburst associated with a strong thunderstorm blew down at least eight large trees near the intersection of Georgia Highway 53 and Experiment Station Road, or near the Phil Campbell USDA Research Center.”
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
Oconee County, which includes Watkinsville, has been named in 14 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1973, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 hurricanes, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tropical storms, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on March 29, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Oconee County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for hurricanes, tornadoes, hail, inland flooding, strong wind, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.2 million a year, the 63rd highest of 159 Georgia counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.0 million (57%), 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 Watkinsville
- Bishop, GA5 mi
- Athens, GA7 mi
- Bogart, GA8 mi
- Winterville, GA11 mi
- Statham, GA12 mi
- Crawford, GA15 mi
- Hull, GA16 mi
- Nicholson, GA17 mi
- Monroe, GA17 mi
- Colbert, GA17 mi
- Madison, GA18 mi
- Bethlehem, GA19 mi
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