Columbia County, Georgia severe weather history spans 384 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 55.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,320 nationally and #28 in Georgia.
384
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
8
Direct injuries
$6.6M
Property damage
The record
What the Columbia County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Columbia County, Georgia severe weather history averages 5.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 123 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 21 events fall before 1990 and 363 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is tornado, with $4.0M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Columbia County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 213 | 0 | $1.4M | 91 | 1966–2025 |
| Hail | 106 | 0 | $85K | 2 | 1975–2024 |
| Flash Flood | 39 | 0 | $778K | 4 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 8 | 0 | $4.0M | F2 | 1957–2019 |
| Heavy Rain | 6 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2013–2020 |
| Lightning | 4 | 0 | $271K | 0 | 2010–2022 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $64K | 0 | 2013–2019 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2013 |
| Winter Storm | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2025–2025 |
Decade by decade
Columbia County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
8 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 6 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 | Touched down here |
| 2019-03-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2003-02-22 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1957-04-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 23.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-03-15 | EF1 | 0 | 2 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1978-05-08 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 38.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2008-03-15 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-01-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Columbia County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | LEAH | 0 | 2 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2008 | Tornado | WINFIELD | 0 | 2 | $140K |
| May 6, 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | APPLING | 0 | 2 | $150K |
| Jun 17, 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | LEAH | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Dec 28, 1983 | 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 supercell tornado tracked across Columbia county from northeast of Harlem through Grovetown damaging many homes and taking down numerous trees and powerlines. Several vehicles were crushed and there were about a dozen minor injuries.
A combination of an intense microburst and a tornado produced winds estimated at 120-130mph. A barn and camper trailer. Moderate damage was done to 4 homes with minor damage to 34 other homes. Debris from the barn was found a mile downstream. The microburst width was 1/8-1/4 mile wide with the vortex circulation about 50 yds wide.
Emergency Manager reported heavy rains during the afternoon resulted in flooding in the Evans area where 2 to 6 inches of rain fell. One to three feet of water flooded the Mitchell Park area and the Windmill Subdivision.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
162,434
Population (ACS)
$305K
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 |
| Oct 10, 2018 | Hurricane | HURRICANE MICHAEL | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Columbia County, Georgia?
384 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 0 direct deaths and $6.6M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Columbia County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 213 recorded events — 55.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Columbia County?
8 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 6 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Columbia County?
14 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Columbia County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Columbia County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Columbia County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Columbia 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
- Colquitt County 349
- Cook County 147
- Coffee County 381
- Coweta County 658
- Cobb County 608
- Crawford County 171
Cite this page
“Columbia County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/columbia-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.