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Bartow County, Georgia severe weather history spans 490 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #911 nationally and #12 in Georgia.
490
Recorded events
3
Direct deaths
51
Direct injuries
$97.1M
Property damage
The record
What the Bartow County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Bartow County, Georgia severe weather history averages 6.8 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 154 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 44 events fall before 1990 and 446 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Bartow County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $82.9M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Bartow County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 252 | 1 | $3.5M | 87 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 139 | 0 | $7.6M | 4.5 | 1971–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 36 | 0 | $1.1M | 0 | 2000–2021 |
| Tornado | 26 | 2 | $82.9M | F2 | 1954–2021 |
| Lightning | 22 | 0 | $1.8M | 0 | 1998–2024 |
| Flood | 7 | 0 | $7K | 0 | 2001–2023 |
| Funnel Cloud | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 3 | 0 | $300K | 0 | 2003–2010 |
| Winter Storm | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Bartow County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
28 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 21 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-04-27 | EF4 | 22 | 85 | 97.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 1994-03-27 | EF4 | 3 | 20 | 49.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-03-27 | EF3 | 9 | 70 | 40.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-03-15 | EF3 | 2 | 2 | 16.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2013-01-30 | EF3 | 1 | 17 | 21.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-27 | EF3 | 0 | 25 | 23.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-12-22 | EF3 | 0 | 4 | 11.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 1 | 20 | 65.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2002-11-11 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-03-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Bartow County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 30, 2013 | Tornado | ADAIRSVILLE | 1 | 9 | $60.0M |
| Apr 13, 2020 | Tornado | LADDS | 1 | 2 | $100K |
| Jul 17, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | CARTERSVILLE | 1 | 0 | $15K |
| Apr 28, 2011 | Tornado | CASSVILLE | 0 | 25 | $15.0M |
| Apr 26, 1982 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Jun 27, 1994 | Tornado | Adairsville | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Jul 19, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $25K | |
| May 1, 2002 | Lightning | CASSVILLE | 0 | 1 | $20K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A tornado touched down just southwest of Adairsville at approximately 1112 AM EST. The tornado strengthened to high-end EF-3 in Adairsville where dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed. At least 95 structures were damaged, with 31 destroyed, 17 sustaining major damage, and 47 with minor damage. Most of the damage to homes was a result of trees falling on homes in downtown Adairsville. The worst damage was along Highway 140 where a large portion of a manufacturing plant was destroyed. One fatality occurred when a tree fell on a mobile home. Over 100 cars were overturned near exit 306 on Interstate 75.|[01/30/13: Tornado #1, County #1-2, EF3, Bartow-Gordon, 2013:001].
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a large tree limb fell on a man's car during an early morning thunderstorm. The man was killed instantly during the incident as the car was crushed under the weight of the tree limb.
Several reports of large hail were received from the public across northern Bartow county from west of Adairsville along the Floyd county line to east of Funkhouser along the Cherokee county line. Baseball-sized hail was observed in the Adairsville area, with 2.0 inch diameter sized-hail west of Adairsville and half-dollar-sized hail near Funkhouser. Windshields of vehicles were broken by the large hail in the Adairsville area.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
113,113
Population (ACS)
$289K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Sep 15, 2017 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IRMA | DR |
| Sep 8, 2017 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IRMA | EM |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Cartersville 114
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Bartow County, Georgia?
490 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 3 direct deaths and $97.1M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Bartow County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 252 recorded events — 51.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Bartow County?
28 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 21 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Bartow County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Bartow County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Bartow County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Bartow County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 65 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Bartow County, Georgia severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Barrow County 202
- Ben Hill County 150
- Banks County 196
- Berrien County 228
- Baldwin County 191
- Bibb County 393
Cite this page
“Bartow County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/bartow-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.