Telfair County, Georgia severe weather history spans 155 recorded events between 1957 and 2023. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #2,680 nationally and #121 in Georgia.
155
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
3
Direct injuries
$1.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Telfair County, Georgia severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Telfair County, Georgia severe weather history averages 2.3 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 49 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 27 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 Telfair County, Georgia record is tornado, responsible for 1 direct deaths. The costliest is thunderstorm wind, with $703K 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 Telfair County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 100 | 0 | $703K | 65 | 1970–2023 |
| Hail | 28 | 0 | $6K | 1.75 | 1986–2023 |
| Tornado | 13 | 1 | $483K | F3 | 1957–2022 |
| Flash Flood | 6 | 0 | $105K | 0 | 2005–2020 |
| Flood | 4 | 0 | $6K | 0 | 1999–2009 |
| Lightning | 3 | 0 | $61K | 0 | 1998–2014 |
| Funnel Cloud | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2009 |
Decade by decade
Telfair County, Georgia severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
12 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957-04-08 | EF3 | 1 | 3 | 14.7 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-12-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2015-11-02 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1980-06-24 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-06-15 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2022-10-12 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-03-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-03-03 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 2012-12-17 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Telfair County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 1957 | Tornado | 1 | 3 | $25K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Telfair County Emergency Management Director reported that several trees and power lines were down across the county. However, much of the damage occurred in the Lumber City area in the far southeastern part of the county. Here, one unit of the Village Square Apartments was destroyed and three other units sustained minor to moderate damage.
The Telfair Enterprise reported that early morning heavy rain, on the order of four inches or more, resulted in damage to several county roads. County Road 13 and County Road 106, between McRae and Milan were washed out and would require extensive repair. A pair of large sinkholes had developed on County Road 13 from the pressure of the extensive runoff. Drainage pipes were washed out from the under the roads and swept quite some distance away from their original location.
A National Weather Service survey found that an EF0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 80 mph and a maximum path width of 150 yards occurred in Telfair County. The tornado touched down near the town of Workmore around the intersection of Workmore Milan Road and Macedonia Church Road where a porch was torn off of a home and tossed around 100 yards. Minor roof damage occurred to the home and a power pole was snapped nearby. The tornado travelled north northeast along Macedonia Church Road snapping or uprooting over a dozen trees before dissipating near the intersection with Big Horse Creek Road. No injuries were reported. [03/03/19: Tornado #5, County #1/1, EF0, Telfair, 2019:010].
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Very Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
11,831
Population (ACS)
$113K
Median home value
18
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 |
| Aug 5, 2024 | Tropical Storm | HURRICANE DEBBY | EM |
| 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 Telfair County, Georgia?
155 events are on record between 1957 and 2023, causing 1 direct deaths and $1.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Telfair County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 100 recorded events — 64.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Telfair County?
12 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 Telfair County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Telfair County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Telfair County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Telfair County as very low risk, placing it in the 24 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Telfair 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
- Taylor County 164
- Terrell County 153
- Tattnall County 303
- Thomas County 352
- Taliaferro County 53
- Tift County 263
Cite this page
“Telfair County, Georgia.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/georgia/telfair-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.