Crisp County, Georgia severe weather history spans 207 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.9% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,403 nationally and #79 in Georgia.
207
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$3.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Crisp County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Crisp County, Georgia severe weather history averages 3.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 59 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 26 events fall before 1990 and 181 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Crisp County, Georgia record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is flood, with $1.2M 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 Crisp County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 122 | 1 | $1.1M | 70 | 1956–2025 |
| Hail | 43 | 0 | $238K | 2.75 | 1959–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 14 | 0 | $279K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $778K | F2 | 1958–2024 |
| Flood | 8 | 0 | $1.2M | 0 | 2002–2020 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $275K | 0 | 2006–2013 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2008 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2003 |
| Winter Storm | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Crisp County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-01-22 | EF3 | 5 | 88 | 70.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-04-23 | EF3 | 0 | 8 | 13.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-10-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1958-11-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1963-01-20 | EF1 | 1 | 4 | 70.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 2024-04-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-04-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-01-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-01-22 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-23 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 5.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Crisp County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | ARABI | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 1967 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $3K | |
| May 23, 2017 | Tornado | ARABI | 0 | 2 | $100K |
| Mar 3, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | CONEY | 0 | 2 | $250K |
| Jun 9, 1988 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Crisp county Emergency Management Director reported that a worker at an engineering facility was injured when thunderstorm winds blew a heavy metal door onto the person who as a result suffered serious head injuries. The 51-year old male later died as a result of the injury on August 8, 2003.
The Crisp County Emergency Management Director reported extensive flooding across Crisp county as a result of rainfall of five inches or more that had fallen on saturated ground from several prior weeks of wet conditions and above normal rainfall. Several roads within the county had to be closed as culverts were washed out and the roads were rendered impassable. Many roads in the Cordele area were inundated with high water during the height of the flooding and had to be closed. In addition, several homes in the Cordele area sustained significant flood damage.
A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the third EF1 tornado to touch down in Sumter county the evening of April 10th, continued on a sporadic, but long path, across Crisp and into Wilcox county before lifting. The tornado crossed into Crisp county at Lake Blackshear, just south of the Georgia Veterans State Park. The tornado entered the county as an EF1 with a maximum path width of 200 yards. However, as the tornado crossed the lake into western Crisp county, it weakened to an EF0 with a maximum path width of 100 yards. Maximum winds were estimated at 100 mph as the tornado entered the county, but quickly weakened to 80 mph as it progressed across the lake. The path length within Crisp county was approximately 14 miles. Within Crisp county, 20 homes sustained minor to moderate damage. This damage was primarily the result of large downed trees on the structures. At least two to three dozen trees were down along the path of the tornado within Crisp county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
19,790
Population (ACS)
$140K
Median home value
17
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| Jan 16, 2023 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Crisp County, Georgia?
207 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $3.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Crisp County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 122 recorded events — 58.9% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Crisp County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Crisp County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Crisp County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Crisp County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Crisp County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 52 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Crisp 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
- Crawford County 171
- Dade County 221
- Coweta County 658
- Dawson County 195
- Cook County 147
- Decatur County 287
Cite this page
“Crisp County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/crisp-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.