Colquitt County, Georgia severe weather history spans 349 recorded events between 1951 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.8% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,497 nationally and #33 in Georgia.
349
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
36
Direct injuries
$11.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Colquitt County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Colquitt County, Georgia severe weather history averages 4.7 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 100 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 55 events fall before 1990 and 294 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Colquitt County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $7.9M 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 Colquitt County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 219 | 1 | $1.7M | 66 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 59 | 0 | $0 | 4 | 1957–2026 |
| Tornado | 38 | 3 | $7.9M | F2 | 1951–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $1.3M | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Funnel Cloud | 7 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2024 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $276K | 0 | 1999–2022 |
| Heavy Rain | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2012 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2016–2016 |
| Winter Storm | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Colquitt County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
43 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 40 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-10-01 | EF2 | 2 | 12 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2000-02-14 | EF2 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-12-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-04-18 | EF2 | 0 | 30 | 217.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 1952-01-22 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 8.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1951-05-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 9.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-04-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-12-30 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-04-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 37.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-04-14 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Colquitt County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 1989 | Tornado | 2 | 12 | $2.5M | |
| Jul 3, 2020 | Lightning | SOUTH MOULTRIE | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Apr 1, 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | MOULTRIE | 1 | 0 | $10K |
| Feb 14, 2000 | Tornado | CROSLAND | 1 | 0 | $500K |
| Jan 22, 1952 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $250K | |
| Jul 2, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 5 | $0 | |
| Dec 29, 1983 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Dec 6, 1983 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $30 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A strong tornado tore through extreme northeast Colquitt County near Crosland toppling trees and power lines before it moved into extreme southwest Tift County. Several mobile homes were damaged. One woman was killed in a mobile home just northeast of Crosland when a large tree and another mobile home were blown against her home. Colquitt County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by a amateur radio operator and the Colquitt County EMA.
A 9-year-old girl was killed by a lightning strike in Moultrie while walking on a trail on South Main Street with her mother and 15 year old sister. The sister was injured. The family took cover under a shelter when lightning struck a nearby tree.
A tornado touched down along Perry Batts Road near Norman Park and traveled northeast. It destroyed two chicken houses at the International Poultry Breeders, killing 5,000 chickens and condemning another 15,000. The tornado sideswiped a restaurant, but snapped off several large pines around the building. One tree fell through the roof. A small shelter on the property was destroyed. Over open fields, several metal sheds were damaged or destroyed, and irrigation pivots were overturned. Five homes were destroyed, eight received heavy damage, and seven sustained moderate damage. Many power poles were toppled. A man suffered scratches to his left arm after part of the ceiling of his mobile home collapsed on him. The tornado lifted over Lanyer Sumner Road near the Colquitt-Cook county line. Damage survey provided by a SKYWARN storm spotter.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
46,224
Population (ACS)
$121K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| Sep 7, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Colquitt County, Georgia?
349 events are on record between 1951 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $11.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Colquitt County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 219 recorded events — 62.8% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Colquitt County?
43 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 40 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Colquitt County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Colquitt County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Colquitt County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Colquitt County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 71 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Colquitt 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
- Coffee County 381
- Columbia County 384
- Cobb County 608
- Cook County 147
- Clinch County 247
- Coweta County 658
Cite this page
“Colquitt County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/colquitt-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.