McDuffie County, Georgia

What hazards hit McDuffie County most?

The most frequent records are severe thunderstorm wind events: 98 since 1983. 44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1983 fell in June and July. The rank column places the county among Georgia's counties by days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land over each hazard's complete period.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (county and forecast-zone records attributed to the county; a zone record shows its own totals on each county it covers). Days: dates with at least one record of the hazard in the county. Ranks: days with a record per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer), since 1950 for tornadoes, 1955 for hail and thunderstorm wind, 1996 for the rest.

How many tornadoes has McDuffie County had?

NOAA records 8 tornadoes in McDuffie County from 1955 to 2023, the strongest rated EF2, with 3 deaths and 0 injuries recorded in the county. A tornado that crossed a county line is counted in each county it touched, with the length of its path inside the county.

Counted as whole tornadoes rather than county records, the Storm Prediction Center's database holds 9 tornadoes whose track touched McDuffie County since 1950 (NOAA's county records number 8: they file a crossing tornado once per county segment, and the two databases differ on some tracks); along their whole tracks they killed 3 people.

Map of the strongest tornado tracks in Georgia.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, tornado records by county (path length in the county, maximum width); ratings as published: F scale before February 1, 2007, EF scale after. Whole-track figures: NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database (1950-2025). SPC severe weather database.

When was the last damaging storm in McDuffie County?

The most recent record with damage, injuries or deaths is the September 27, 2024 tropical storm (4 deaths and $19.8 million in damage in 2025 dollars).

Significant tree and power line damage observed through the entire county. Falling trees and wind caused substantial structural damage across the county. At least 461 homes sustained some level of damage including 51 destroyed and 93 with major damage. Many roads were closed and power outages were widespread. Max winds at Thomson-McDuffie Airport were 31 kts sustained (36 mph) and gusts to 52 kts (60 mph) before the observation was lost. Minimum recorded mean sea level pressure at Thomson-McDuffie Airport was 977.0 mb. A mesonet site south of Dearing observed a gust to 61 mph. NWS storm survey team estimated max wind gusts around 80-90 mph. Four fatalities occurred in the county. A mother and her twin infants died when a tree fell on their mobile home in Thomson. …
National Weather Service event narrative, NOAA Storm Events Database (search the full record, event 1207968)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database; every record of 2025-2026 is listed, earlier ones when they caused deaths, injuries or $250,000 of damage (2025 dollars), and every tornado.

The deadliest and costliest records

A damage figure marked "step" is a record from before 1993: NOAA then filed damage by category, and the figure is the category as entered, in the dollars of that year, not an estimate of the loss.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths and injuries direct and indirect; damage is property plus crops as estimated by the National Weather Service, converted to 2025 dollars.

Is it getting more frequent?

Records per decade for McDuffie County's most frequent hazards. Counts rose everywhere after 1996, when NOAA began recording every event type, so compare decades within a hazard's complete period only (the shaded cells come before it).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records per calendar decade; zone records from the CZ_TYPE field (Z).

What time of year?

44% of its severe thunderstorm wind events since 1983 fell in June and July. The two busiest months are in violet.

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.

Federal disaster declarations for McDuffie County

FEMA's register lists 15 declarations that include McDuffie County: 6 major disasters, 9 emergencies and 0 fire management assistance declarations. Most were for hurricane (5) and biological (2).

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), declarations through October 2, 2026; one declaration is counted once however many areas it names. OpenFEMA dataset page.

How many floods has McDuffie County had?

NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 4 flood or flash flood records for McDuffie County from 2001 to 2024, on 4 days, with 0 deaths. By flood insurance claims since 1978 (OpenFEMA, as of September 8, 2026), McDuffie County ranks 2830th of 2,942 U.S. counties.

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $0 on 1 claim filed in McDuffie County; the most in one year was 1 in 2022. Claims count insured losses only: uninsured flood damage is not in this file.

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims, as of September 8, 2026; claims by year of loss, payments in the dollars of the year paid. OpenFEMA dataset page.

FEMA's modeled risk for McDuffie County

FEMA's National Risk Index rates McDuffie County Very Low overall, with an expected annual loss of $6.2 million. These are FEMA's model estimates of future loss from 18 hazards, not a count of what happened; they can differ from the record above.

Source: FEMA National Risk Index, county table, December 2025 release. FEMA's National Risk Index map.

Counties that share a border with McDuffie County

1. Richmond County 442
2. Columbia County 412
3. Jefferson County 232
4. Wilkes County 229
5. Lincoln County 184
6. McDuffie County 173
7. Warren County 171

Source: U.S. Census Bureau county adjacency file; NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1950. The Census Bureau's adjacency file.

Next

• Tornadoes in GeorgiaEvery Georgia tornado since 1950 and the counties with the most per square mile
• Severe thunderstorm wind in GeorgiaThe state's severe thunderstorm wind events, by county, year and month
• The Georgia recordEvery hazard in the state, its deadliest events and its federal declarations
• FEMA's risk rating for each hazard in McDuffie CountyThe hazard risk calculator: 18 hazards beside the county's record
• Download McDuffie County's FEMA declarations (CSV)15 rows: every declaration that named the county, for your own analysis