Heard County, Georgia severe weather history spans 184 recorded events between 1970 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.6% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,535 nationally and #99 in Georgia.
184
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
7
Direct injuries
$15.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Heard County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Heard County, Georgia severe weather history averages 3.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 65 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 15 events fall before 1990 and 169 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Heard County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $12.9M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Heard County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 95 | 0 | $642K | 60 | 1982–2025 |
| Hail | 59 | 0 | $125K | 2.75 | 1970–2023 |
| Tornado | 12 | 1 | $12.9M | F2 | 1973–2023 |
| Flash Flood | 7 | 0 | $1.6M | 0 | 2003–2024 |
| Lightning | 6 | 0 | $286K | 0 | 2000–2014 |
| Flood | 2 | 0 | $15K | 0 | 2009–2009 |
| Heavy Rain | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2003–2017 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
Decade by decade
Heard County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
15 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 9 touched down inside it and 6 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-03-25 | EF4 | 0 | 0 | 38.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1974-01-26 | EF3 | 1 | 7 | 21.3 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-08-29 | EF2 | 1 | 3 | 5.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-03-05 | EF2 | 1 | 6 | 45.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2014-04-28 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 1973-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-01-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2018-02-07 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-08-18 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2011-04-27 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 17.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Heard County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 1989 | Tornado | 1 | 0 | $2.5M | |
| Aug 29, 2005 | Tornado | GLENLOCH | 0 | 3 | $750K |
| Apr 28, 2011 | Tornado | COOKSVILLE | 0 | 1 | $1.5M |
| Apr 4, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | CENTRALHATCHEE | 0 | 1 | $50K |
| Feb 22, 1993 | Tornado | Ephesus to | 0 | 1 | $5.0M |
| Oct 15, 1985 | 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
The tornado touched down near Georgia Highway 100 near Ephesus and moved east- southeast and destroyed five chicken houses and killed 100,000 chickens. A dozen homes, both mobile and frame houses, were destroyed while 12 to 15 others sustained moderate to light damage. One church suffered major structural damage. Eight to nine vehicles were damaged from falling and wind driven debris. Over $40,000 worth of timber was destroyed. Two sawmills, a gristmill, a barn, and an antique warehouse were leveled by tornado winds east of Ephesus. Several large trees were twisted or snapped along the tornado path.
The Heard county 911 center reported that many roads across the county were flooded with water flowing across the roads. Several individuals has to be rescued in northern Heard county along Centralhatchee Creek. The News & Banner of Franklin reported that more than 20 roads were left impassable. Several homes in the county also experienced flooding resulting in minor damage. Two individuals had to be rescued from a tree when their Jeep became stranded in flood waters which rose over the hood of the vehicle. Recreational ball fields and the Chattahoochee Walking Trail were completely inundated during and for a couple of days after the flooding commenced.
A National Weather Survey Team concluded that an F2 tornado touched down approximately 1/4 mile south of Glenloch in far northern Heard county, then continued north at 30-35 mph into Carroll county about three miles southeast of Roopville, finally terminating three miles northeast of Roopville. This was the first confirmed tornado in the Peachtree City forecast area associated with Hurricane Katrina. While the overall damage path with this tornado was 5.5 miles long, only 1.5 miles of this damage path occurred within Heard county. The path width of this tornado was approximately 200 yards wide. Several homes in the Glenloch area were severely damaged, along with a number of downed trees and power lines. Three residents at one of the damaged homes were injured by debris during the tornado.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,773
Population (ACS)
$187K
Median home value
19
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Sep 26, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE HELENE | EM |
| May 5, 2021 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOES | DR |
| Jan 12, 2021 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ZETA | DR |
| 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 Heard County, Georgia?
184 events are on record between 1970 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths and $15.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Heard County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 95 recorded events — 51.6% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Heard County?
15 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 Heard County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Heard County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Heard County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Heard County as very low risk, placing it in the 13 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Heard 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
- Hart County 181
- Henry County 329
- Harris County 285
- Houston County 458
- Haralson County 205
- Irwin County 190
Cite this page
“Heard County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/heard-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.