Fulton County, Georgia severe weather history spans 902 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #208 nationally and #2 in Georgia.
902
Recorded events
17
Direct deaths
286
Direct injuries
$463.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Fulton County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Fulton County, Georgia severe weather history averages 12.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 235 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 132 events fall before 1990 and 770 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Fulton County, Georgia record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 9 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $302.7M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Fulton County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 464 | 9 | $15.7M | 78 | 1956–2026 |
| Hail | 238 | 0 | $38.7M | 3.25 | 1955–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 103 | 0 | $31.1M | 0 | 1997–2023 |
| Tornado | 38 | 6 | $302.7M | F3 | 1954–2024 |
| Lightning | 37 | 2 | $4.8M | 0 | 1997–2014 |
| Flood | 13 | 0 | $69.8M | 0 | 2000–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $550K | 0 | 2003–2012 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2002 |
Decade by decade
Fulton County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
42 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 33 touched down inside it and 9 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-03-24 | EF3 | 3 | 152 | 14.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1972-01-10 | EF3 | 1 | 9 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-05-27 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-03-14 | EF2 | 1 | 30 | 6.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-04-08 | EF2 | 1 | 10 | 19.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1954-12-05 | EF2 | 1 | 40 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-03-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2006-01-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1998-04-08 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 3.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1989-11-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Fulton County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 1975 | Tornado | 3 | 152 | $250.0M | |
| Jul 10, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | ATLANTA | 3 | 0 | $35K |
| May 26, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | ATLANTA | 2 | 0 | $100K |
| Dec 5, 1954 | Tornado | 1 | 40 | $25K | |
| Mar 15, 2008 | Tornado | ATLANTA | 1 | 30 | $25.0M |
| Jan 10, 1972 | Tornado | 1 | 9 | $250K | |
| May 3, 1984 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 5 | $0 | |
| Feb 10, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 1 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Fulton county Emergency Management Director, as well as the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, reported that a large, 100-year old oak tree fell on a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) stopped in traffic in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood of midtown Atlanta. Three of the four people in the vehicle were killed instantly when the tree fell on the vehicle, including a 37-year old mother and her two boys, one three years old and the other only six months old. The husband in the front seat was uninjured. There were several other reports of trees and even some power lines down during the thunderstorm which left up to 30,000 residents of Atlanta without power during the evening.
The Fulton County Emergency Management Director and the public reported that at least a dozen trees were down across the north part of the county in the Buckhead and Sandy Springs areas. A number of roads were blocked from downed trees, especially across the northern part of the county. Two females in their 60s were killed when a large tree fell on their Mazda Miata sports car while traveling on West Paces Ferry Road at Nancy Creek Road, approximately four miles west-northwest of Buckhead. A downed tree limb on the MARTA tracks near the Arts Center Station caused delays for southbound trains. Several power lines were also down across the area with thousands of residents across the county left without power for several hours, many even into the next day. In addition, a UPS truck was set on fire when a large tree fell on the vehicle.
The Fulton County Emergency Manager reported that a very large tree was blown down onto Mt. Paran Road NW between Jett Road NW and Rebel Trail NW. The tree fell onto a vehicle driven by a City of Atlanta Watershed employee, crushing the vehicle and killing the occupant.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
1,076,561
Population (ACS)
$459K
Median home value
21
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 30, 2024 | Hurricane | HURRICANE HELENE | DR |
| 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 |
Within the county
Most affected places
- Atlanta 297
- Sandy Spgs 116
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Fulton County, Georgia?
902 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 17 direct deaths and $463.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Fulton County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 464 recorded events — 51.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Fulton County?
42 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 33 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Fulton County?
21 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Fulton County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Fulton County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Fulton County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Fulton 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
- Franklin County 189
- Gilmer County 240
- Forsyth County 341
- Glascock County 43
- Floyd County 512
- Glynn County 326
Cite this page
“Fulton County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/fulton-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.