Hurricanes that hit Tift County, Georgia: hurricane history

56 storms have passed within 50 km of Tift County from 1851 to 2024, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Tift County

The record holds 56 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Tift County, Georgia between 1851 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 17 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 4 strength. 3 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 56storms within 50 km
  • 1major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 17at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Tift County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1120%
Tropical storm2545%
Category 11323%
Category 235%
Category 300%
Category 412%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity35%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Tift County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 8 in 1910s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1980s2000s2020s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1851, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s5
1870s5
1880s2
1890s2
1900s4
1910s8
1920s3
1930s2
1940s4
1950s3
1960s2
1980s3
1990s4
2000s2
2010s3
2020s1

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 17 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May1Jun6Jul4Aug12Sep17Oct13Nov3Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May1
Jun6
Jul4
Aug12
Sep17
Oct13
Nov3
Dec0

Strongest storms near Tift County

  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1898 (North Atlantic)25 September 1898 to 6 October 1898, Category 2 (90 kt) near here, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 938 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1947 (North Atlantic)8 October 1947 to 16 October 1947, peak Category 2 (90 kt), 966 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1894 (North Atlantic)26 September 1894 to 12 October 1894, Category 2 (85 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt)
  • Unnamed storm of October 1852 (North Atlantic)3 October 1852 to 12 October 1852, Category 1 (80 kt) near here, peak Category 2 (90 kt)

Most recent storms near Tift County

  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, Tropical storm (50 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Hermine (2016)28 August 2016 to 8 September 2016, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 982 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Tift County

  • Irma (2017)30 August 2017 to 13 September 2017, peak Category 5 (155 kt), 914 hPa
  • Helene (2024)23 September 2024 to 28 September 2024, peak Category 4 (120 kt), 941 hPa
  • Easy (1950)1 September 1950 to 9 September 1950, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 960 hPa
  • Kate (1985)15 November 1985 to 23 November 1985, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Alma (1966)5 June 1966 to 14 June 1966, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 970 hPa

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