Schley County, Georgia severe weather history spans 72 recorded events between 1954 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 58.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,985 nationally and #155 in Georgia.
72
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$1.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Schley County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Schley County, Georgia severe weather history averages 1.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 22 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 6 events fall before 1990 and 66 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Schley County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $1.7M 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 Schley County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 42 | 0 | $219K | 55 | 1980–2025 |
| Hail | 20 | 0 | $3K | 1.75 | 1986–2024 |
| Tornado | 7 | 2 | $1.7M | F2 | 1954–2017 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 2016–2016 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Schley County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 4 touched down inside it and 3 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-04-05 | EF2 | 2 | 5 | 75.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1954-12-05 | EF2 | 1 | 35 | 71.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1963-01-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 16.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1961-03-31 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-04-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1997-11-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 10.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-03-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Schley County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 5, 1957 | Tornado | 2 | 3 | $250K | |
| Dec 5, 1954 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K | |
| Jan 20, 1963 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A state of emergency was declared in Schley county where 103 people were displaced due to the storm. In Ellaville, 5 mobile homes were destroyed, 17 homes and 11 other mobile homes sustained minor to moderate damage, and 19 vehicles were damaged or destroyed. The EMA director reported 500 trees were downed and power outages occurred throughout the town.
The Marion County Emergency Management Director reported that the tornado, which began in eastern Marion county approximately two miles northwest of Putnam, continued on a two-mile east-northeastward track into extreme western Schley county. The tornado lifted approximately 2.1 miles northwest of Walls Crossing. The tornado continued to have a maximum path width in Schley county of 100 yards. Within Schley county, nearly 500 trees were either snapped or uprooted along the brief 1/2 mile long path. No structural damage was reported within Schley county.
The Schley county newspaper reported that a number of trees were split off or broken off. Some of these trees landed on and caused damage to the Supervised Probation Inc. office. Sixty-percent of the roof caved in. Consequently, the building also suffered some water damage.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,513
Population (ACS)
$144K
Median home value
12
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| Mar 29, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Oct 14, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MICHAEL | DR |
| Oct 10, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Schley County, Georgia?
72 events are on record between 1954 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths and $1.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Schley County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 42 recorded events — 58.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Schley County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 4 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Schley County?
12 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Schley County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Schley County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Schley County as very low risk, placing it in the 1 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Schley 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
- Screven County 386
- Rockdale County 181
- Seminole County 115
- Richmond County 401
- Spalding County 318
- Randolph County 130
Cite this page
“Schley County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/schley-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.