Grady County, Georgia severe weather history spans 225 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 71.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,281 nationally and #68 in Georgia.
225
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
33
Direct injuries
$19.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Grady County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Grady County, Georgia severe weather history averages 3.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 82 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 18 events fall before 1990 and 207 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Grady County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 6 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $10.3M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Grady County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 161 | 0 | $716K | 89 | 1955–2026 |
| Tornado | 24 | 6 | $10.3M | F3 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 23 | 0 | $0 | 2.5 | 1980–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 9 | 1 | $8.6M | 0 | 2000–2024 |
| Heavy Rain | 5 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2012–2012 |
| Lightning | 2 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 2008–2008 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2013 |
Decade by decade
Grady County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
24 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 20 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-02-13 | EF3 | 7 | 15 | 15.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-01-12 | EF2 | 1 | 33 | 168.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-03-03 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 2.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-02-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2009-02-18 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 13 | 6.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1971-04-29 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 10.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1970-12-29 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 5.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1969-04-18 | EF2 | 0 | 30 | 217.8 mi | Crossed in |
| 2025-04-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Grady County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 14, 2000 | Tornado | CAIRO | 6 | 15 | $3.5M |
| Aug 23, 2008 | Flash Flood | BEACHTON | 1 | 0 | $8.5M |
| Mar 15, 2001 | Tornado | WHIGHAM | 0 | 9 | $1.0M |
| Dec 29, 1970 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $3K | |
| Mar 4, 2019 | Tornado | CAIRO | 0 | 2 | $1.0M |
| Apr 29, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 2 | $2.5M | |
| Feb 18, 2008 | Tornado | CAPEL | 0 | 1 | $150K |
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 northern Grady County, then crossed into extreme northwest Thomas County. Fifteen homes were destroyed and numerous damaged. Fifteen persons were injured, mostly from flying debris. Six fatalities were confirmed by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency: four deaths in mobile homes and two in a woodframe home. Scores of pecan trees were uprooted, pine trees snapped and power lines toppled. Farmers suffered major losses to irrigation equipment, trailers and shelters. Eight chicken houses were flattened, killing a half million chickens. Grady County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by the Grady County EMA.
Many roads and low lying areas were flooded. More than 700 miles of county roads were were undermined by the flood waters. A teenage boy drowned when he fell into rushing flood waters of an overflowing lake in Deer Lake subdivision. A man was seriously injured trying to save the boy. Numerous homes in Cairo were flooded, with some inundated by water as high as four feet. Rainfall amounts ranged from ten to twenty inches throughout the county.
An EF-2 tornado, with maximum winds of 120 mph, tracked 2.7 miles across Grady County in the Cairo area. The tornado touched down on Monrovia Nursery, downing 100s of potted plants and numerous trees in the forest. The tornado continued to track|northeastward, downing numerous trees, many of which fell on homes causing structural damage. In one of the harder hit areas, the roof was torn off of a single family home and a carport was destroyed. The tornado eventually lifted northeast of Hwy 84. Two injuries were sustained from the storm. Damage cost was estimated.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
26,108
Population (ACS)
$152K
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 |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 14, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MICHAEL | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Grady County, Georgia?
225 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 7 direct deaths and $19.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Grady County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 161 recorded events — 71.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Grady County?
24 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 20 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Grady County?
17 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Grady County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Grady County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Grady County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 53 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Grady 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
- Gordon County 292
- Greene County 157
- Glynn County 326
- Gwinnett County 715
- Glascock County 43
- Habersham County 271
Cite this page
“Grady County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/grady-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.