Madison County, Georgia severe weather history spans 176 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,578 nationally and #105 in Georgia.
176
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
11
Direct injuries
$5.2M
Property damage
The record
What the Madison County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Madison County, Georgia severe weather history averages 2.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 49 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 142 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $2.8M 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 Madison County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 102 | 0 | $897K | 61 | 1971–2025 |
| Hail | 53 | 0 | $1.2M | 3 | 1967–2025 |
| Tornado | 9 | 0 | $2.8M | F2 | 1954–2021 |
| Flash Flood | 5 | 0 | $245K | 0 | 1999–2014 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $60K | 0 | 2000–2009 |
| Funnel Cloud | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2008 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2011 |
Decade by decade
Madison County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
13 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-03-31 | EF2 | 2 | 100 | 72.4 mi | Crossed in |
| 2003-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 12 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-03-31 | EF2 | 0 | 25 | 17.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-08-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-09-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-05-06 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-13 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 26.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1975-03-13 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 19.2 mi | Crossed in |
| 1968-11-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.6 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Madison County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | DANIELSVILLE | 0 | 5 | $25K |
| Mar 31, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 5 | $250K | |
| Apr 28, 1990 | 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
A cooperative observed in Ila reported hail larger than baseballs, namely 3.00 inch diameter hail. Hail the size of baseballs was observed further southeast just west of Danielsville. Radar supported that large hail continued to the southeast part of the county.
A storm survey team from the National Weather Service office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina and the Madison county Emergency Management Director determined that an F1 tornado touched down in extreme northeast Madison county in the city of Harrison and traveled on the ground to the east for 3 miles passing into Elbert county west of Bowman. The tornado ranged from 100 to 200 yards wide. Twenty homes in the area sustained moderate to major damage, two mobile homes were destroyed, two chicken houses were destroyed and a host of other outbuildings were demolished, including a garage and auto shop off Georgia Highway 281, an adjacent pickup truck, a block shop and adjacent fishing boat. Numerous large trees were either uprooted or snapped off along the damage path and a number of power lines were knocked down as well. There were no injuries or deaths reported during the incident.
A weak and short-lived tornado touched down along and crossed U.S. Highway 29 near the intersection of Georgia Highway 281 before dissipating. A few large trees lost large limbs and a couple of highway roadside signs were blown down. Three chicken houses were destroyed with a total value of 270 thousand dollars. Also, 60,000 chickens were killed.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
31,528
Population (ACS)
$220K
Median home value
14
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 |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Madison County, Georgia?
176 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $5.2M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Madison County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 102 recorded events — 58.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Madison County?
13 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 9 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Madison County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Madison County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Madison County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Madison County as very low risk, placing it in the 29 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Madison 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
- Macon County 143
- Marion County 114
- McIntosh County 211
- Meriwether County 229
- McDuffie County 150
- Miller County 149
Cite this page
“Madison County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/madison-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.