Paulding County, Georgia severe weather history spans 351 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,486 nationally and #32 in Georgia.
351
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
15
Direct injuries
$24.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Paulding County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Paulding County, Georgia severe weather history averages 5.0 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2020s, with 145 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 21 events fall before 1990 and 330 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Paulding County, Georgia record is lightning, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $12.2M 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 Paulding County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 225 | 0 | $1.5M | 69 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 78 | 0 | $6.1M | 2 | 1974–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 19 | 0 | $275K | 0 | 2003–2021 |
| Lightning | 13 | 2 | $1.0M | 0 | 2000–2023 |
| Tornado | 10 | 0 | $12.2M | F3 | 1956–2025 |
| Flood | 5 | 0 | $3.8M | 0 | 2000–2021 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–1999 |
Decade by decade
Paulding County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
9 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-03-02 | EF3 | 0 | 1 | 29.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF2 | 1 | 20 | 65.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1956-04-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 46.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 11.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1983-12-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-04-08 | EF1 | 0 | 1 | 4.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1973-12-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 2020-01-11 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2005-08-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Paulding County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12, 2023 | Lightning | CROWVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 17, 2004 | Lightning | HIRAM | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | Tornado | 0 | 8 | $0 | |
| Jun 17, 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | OBERLOCHEN | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Nov 18, 2015 | Lightning | SUDIE | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Aug 22, 2009 | Lightning | BRASWELL | 0 | 1 | $250K |
| Jul 30, 2000 | Lightning | DALLAS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2000 | Lightning | DALLAS | 0 | 1 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Lightning struck a person while playing golf on September 12, 2023. Unfortunately, the person passed away several days later. Very little media attention existed at the time of occurrence. A reporter from St. Louis was doing a follow-up story on this with the family and notified the appropriate NWS personnel months later.
The public observed golf ball-sized hail in the eastern part of Paulding county near Hiram and a cooperative observer reported quarter-sized hail near New Hope. This was the second severe thunderstorm to move across Paulding county this evening. WSR-88D radar data strongly suggested that hail of quarter-size or larger likely impacted a large portion of the county from Yorkville to Hiram.
The public observed golf ball-sized hail in the McClendon Creek subdivision. The only area of the county where WSR-88D radar data suggested that hail of this size would have occurred was near Browning in the far southeast part of the county.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
178,909
Population (ACS)
$326K
Median home value
19
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 |
| 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 Paulding County, Georgia?
351 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 2 direct deaths and $24.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Paulding County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 225 recorded events — 64.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Paulding County?
9 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 7 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Paulding County?
19 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Paulding County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Paulding County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Paulding County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 70 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Paulding 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
- Oglethorpe County 154
- Peach County 162
- Oconee County 180
- Pickens County 204
- Newton County 232
- Pierce County 191
Cite this page
“Paulding County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/paulding-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.