Stewart County, Georgia severe weather history spans 108 recorded events between 1954 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 63.0% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,856 nationally and #144 in Georgia.
108
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
20
Direct injuries
$1.8M
Property damage
The record
What the Stewart County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Stewart County, Georgia severe weather history averages 1.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 1990s, with 37 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 11 events fall before 1990 and 97 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Stewart County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $1.6M 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 Stewart County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 68 | 0 | $154K | 61 | 1971–2026 |
| Hail | 21 | 0 | $12K | 1.75 | 1987–2011 |
| Tornado | 16 | 1 | $1.6M | F2 | 1954–2022 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Flash Flood | 1 | 0 | $25K | 0 | 1998–1998 |
| Flood | 1 | 0 | $3K | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Stewart County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
16 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954-12-05 | EF2 | 1 | 35 | 71.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2019-03-03 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-04-05 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 16.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 2008-02-17 | EF2 | 0 | 4 | 17.1 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-04-09 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 4.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-01-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-11-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2014-11-23 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 16.7 mi | Crossed in |
| 2007-03-01 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1984-05-03 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Stewart County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 5, 1954 | Tornado | 1 | 20 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia concluded that an EF1 tornado touched down just southwest of Richland in northeast Stewart county, traveled across the downtown area of Richland and lifted approximately one mile northeast of Richland. The tornado traveled a path of approximately 1.5 miles with a maximum path width of 250 yards. Around 50 homes and businesses sustained damage in the city of Richland. One commercial building at the intersection of Broad and Harris streets was destroyed when the exterior brick wall collapsed. The Harmony Baptist Church on Harmony and Ponder Streets, built in 1838, was also destroyed. Only two walls were left standing. A tractor-trailer at the intersection of U.S. Highway 280 and Georgia Highway 520 was lifted and dropped by the tornado causing the trailer to collapse and split in the center. In addition, a number of trees and power lines were down throughout the Richland area.
A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF-0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 85 MPH and a maximum path width of 150 yards occurred in central Stewart County. The tornado touched down along Green Grove Road southwest of the town of Lumpkin snapping a few trees west of the Bell Sister Road intersection. The tornado travelled east southeast hitting Steward County High School. Several trees were snapped at the front of the school and roofing material was torn off and spread several hundred yards east of the school. Water damage inside the school resulted From the loss of the roofing material, primarily on the east side of the school. Bleachers on an adjacent baseball field were overturned and sections of fence along the field were blown down. A few more trees were blown down east of the High School |before the tornado lifted just west of US Highway 27. No injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #4, County #1/1, EF-0, Stewart, 2017:036].
The Stewart County Emergency Manager along with state Emergency Management officials found a path of damage associated with a brief EF-1 tornado in far southern Stewart County using ground and aerial surveys. The tornado touched down south of Sardis Road destroying a good portion of 2 commercial chicken houses off of Freeman Road. The Tornado traveled just over a half mile to the northeast toppling a large irrigation sprinkler system and snapping or uprooting several large trees before lifting just south of Sardis Road. Maximum wind speed was estimated at 95 MPH and the maximum path width was 200 yards. [01/02/17: Tornado #1, County #1/1, EF1, Stewart, 2017:001].
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
4,869
Population (ACS)
$65K
Median home value
16
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 Stewart County, Georgia?
108 events are on record between 1954 and 2026, causing 1 direct deaths and $1.8M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Stewart County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 68 recorded events — 63.0% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Stewart County?
16 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 11 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Stewart County?
16 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Stewart County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Stewart County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Stewart County as very low risk, placing it in the 6 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Stewart 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
- Stephens County 205
- Sumter County 218
- Spalding County 318
- Talbot County 138
- Seminole County 115
- Taliaferro County 53
Cite this page
“Stewart County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/stewart-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.