Toombs County, Georgia severe weather history spans 154 recorded events between 1956 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 62.3% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,684 nationally and #122 in Georgia.
154
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$4.7M
Property damage
The record
What the Toombs County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Toombs County, Georgia severe weather history averages 2.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 40 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 26 events fall before 1990 and 128 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Toombs County, Georgia record is lightning, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $3.2M 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 Toombs County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 96 | 0 | $1.0M | 62 | 1962–2025 |
| Hail | 32 | 0 | $360K | 2 | 1971–2020 |
| Tornado | 11 | 0 | $3.2M | F2 | 1956–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $21K | 0 | 2012–2020 |
| Lightning | 5 | 1 | $82K | 0 | 2000–2020 |
| Flood | 3 | 0 | $13K | 0 | 2001–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2004–2004 |
Decade by decade
Toombs County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
11 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 10 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-05-11 | EF3 | 0 | 2 | 7.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-05-11 | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 1.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1975-01-12 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1968-06-02 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-05-09 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-01-15 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1956-05-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-01-02 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Toombs County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2002 | Lightning | LYONS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 11, 2008 | Tornado | NORMANTOWN | 0 | 3 | $500K |
| May 3, 1984 | Tornado | 0 | 3 | $2.5M | |
| Jan 12, 1975 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K | |
| Jan 15, 1971 | Tornado | 0 | 1 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Advance Progress Newspaper of Vidalia reported that lightning struck and killed a 45-year old man while on a construction site at the Toombs County Middle School on Center Road. The individual was part of a crew of construction workers at the school. While the others had sought shelter in their vehicles during the thunderstorm, the worker killed had returned to the construction site to retrieve some tools. It was while doing this that he was struck and killed by lightning.
A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down in extreme northwest Toombs county, approxmiately three miles south-southwest of Normantown. This tornado was spawned by the same thunderstorm that less than 10 minutes prior had spanwed an EF3 tornado, the strongest tornado of this event, just south of Soperton in Treutlen county, which tracked into extreme northeast Montgomery county. This first tornado in Toombs county was only on the ground for about one mile, but caused considerable damage. Four mobile homes were completely destroyed, resulting in three minor injuries and the displacement of seven families from their homes. A church also sustained heavy damage. Two brick homes were damaged as well as several barns, sheds, and storage buildings. In addition a tractor-trailer rig was overturned. Some 200 to 300 pine trees were also blown down in the area. The tornado path width was determined to be 150 yards.
A National Weather Service storm survey determined that straight-line winds from a bow echo resulted in scattered wind damage across southern Toombs County from Greys Landing Road to Charlie Hart Road. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped in sporadic intervals in several locations along the roughly 11-mile path. Damage to livestock buildings and a center pivot irrigation system occurred. An unanchored single-wide mobile home was rolled and destroyed. Wind gusts were estimated to be around 70 MPH.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
27,102
Population (ACS)
$137K
Median home value
23
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 |
| Sep 24, 2024 | Tropical Storm | TROPICAL STORM DEBBY | DR |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| Sep 7, 2023 | Hurricane | HURRICANE IDALIA | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Toombs County, Georgia?
154 events are on record between 1956 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $4.7M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Toombs County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 96 recorded events — 62.3% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Toombs County?
11 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 10 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Toombs County?
23 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Toombs County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Toombs County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Toombs County as very low risk, placing it in the 43 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Toombs 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
- Tift County 263
- Towns County 56
- Thomas County 352
- Treutlen County 93
- Terrell County 153
- Troup County 460
Cite this page
“Toombs County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/toombs-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.