Richmond County, Georgia severe weather history spans 401 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,250 nationally and #22 in Georgia.
401
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
74
Direct injuries
$12.0M
Property damage
The record
What the Richmond County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Richmond County, Georgia severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 131 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 73 events fall before 1990 and 328 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Richmond County, Georgia record is thunderstorm wind, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $8.1M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Richmond County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 249 | 1 | $2.8M | 87 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 98 | 0 | $25K | 2 | 1955–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 32 | 0 | $948K | 0 | 1996–2024 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $8.1M | F2 | 1954–2011 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 2014–2023 |
| Lightning | 3 | 1 | $160K | 0 | 2012–2022 |
Decade by decade
Richmond County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
10 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 8 touched down inside it and 2 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-04-10 | EF3 | 0 | 12 | 17.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2015-04-19 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2000-12-16 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-01-29 | EF2 | 0 | 6 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-02-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-08-17 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-11-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2001-06-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-05-19 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-04-23 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Richmond County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 20, 2022 | Lightning | FT GORDON | 1 | 9 | $0 |
| Jul 11, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | AUGUSTA | 1 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 16, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | AUGUSTA | 0 | 24 | $12K |
| Apr 11, 2009 | Tornado | FT GORDON | 0 | 12 | $5.0M |
| Dec 17, 2000 | Tornado | AUGUSTA | 0 | 8 | $0 |
| Jan 29, 1990 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $250K | |
| May 14, 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Augusta | 0 | 4 | $2K |
| Jul 17, 2012 | Lightning | AUGUSTA | 0 | 3 | $160K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Sheriff reported trees and powerlines down. One man died when storms swept across the area. 40-year-old Robert Walker was riding his bike when a tree fell, killing him.|Nearby, there were four others trapped in a store on the corner of 11th and Dugas Street. Inmate crews were out for hours today cleaning up the mess.|The tree that leveled the corner store was completely uprooted. Two men and two children were inside the building and were injured when it collapsed.|
A supercell tornado continued out of Columbia county and tracked across the Augusta area severely damaging many homes and business and taking down numerous trees and powerlines. One hundred and fifty people had to be evacuated from a nursing home that was damaged and there were around a dozen minor injuries.
Up to 4 ft of water covered roadways in downtown Augusta and the Olde Town area in the vicinity of E Boundary St, Laney Walker Blvd, Walton Way, and R A Dent Blvd. A dozen vehicles were flooded and abandoned including 2 water rescues. Three vehicles were flooded from water in the 1500 block of Forest St. Three more vehicles were flooded in the 1500 block of Gordon Hwy. Two homes were evacuated due to floodwaters in the vicinity of Melrose Dr and Formosa Dr. The 2200 block of Winston Way was flooded with 3-4 ft of water. A water rescue was performed at a residence in the 2500 block of Argonne Dr. Multiple homes were flooded with water and sewage along Abelia Dr and Melrose Dr. Multiple water rescues and stalled vehicles along the 3200 block of Peach Orchard Rd and 2000 block of Windsor Spring Rd.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
206,069
Population (ACS)
$179K
Median home value
15
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 |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| 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 Richmond County, Georgia?
401 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $12.0M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Richmond County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 249 recorded events — 62.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Richmond County?
10 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 8 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Richmond County?
15 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Richmond County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Richmond County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Richmond County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 87 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Richmond 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
- Randolph County 130
- Rockdale County 181
- Rabun County 207
- Schley County 72
- Screven County 386
- Quitman County 66
Cite this page
“Richmond County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/richmond-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.