Fayette County, Georgia Tropical Cyclone History

No active tropical cyclones are within 500 miles of Fayette County, Georgia as of Thursday, 10 September 2026. Official forecasts at nhc.noaa.gov.

Since 1852, 26 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Fayette County, Georgia — about one every 6.7 years. Of those, 0 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Nicole (2022), which passed 11 miles away on 11 November 2022.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

6.7

Avg. years between

Years since the last

Storm tracks within 50 miles

TS / TDCat 1Cat 2Cat 3Cat 4Cat 5

Each line is one storm track, coloured by the strongest category it reached while within 50 miles. The dashed ring marks that 50-mile radius; hairlines are one-degree graticule. Source: NOAA NHC HURDAT2.

Key facts

Most recentNicole (2022) — 11 mi away, 11 November 2022
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1893) — 48 kt (55 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordAlberto (1994) — 2.1 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles12 of 26
Peak monthSeptember — 10 storms (38% of all)
Most active year1898 — 2 storms
Most active decade1890s, 1900s, 1950s, 1990s and 2020s — 3 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1852–2022

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Fayette County, Georgia, September is the most active month, with 10 of the 26 recorded storms (38%). Activity concentrates in June, August and September, together 77% of all storms. The 1890s, 1900s, 1950s, 1990s and 2020s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 3 storms. 0 of the 26 storms were major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger) while within 50 miles.

J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
0	0	0	0	0	3	2	7	10	3	1	0

Activity by decade

19002000

Tropical cyclones passing within 50 miles, by decade, 1850s to 2020s. Decades with no storms are shown as empty columns. Comparing two equal 38-year windows inside the aircraft-reconnaissance era: 4 storms in 1950–1987 against 8 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
2	0	0	2	3	3	2	1	0	1	3	0	1	0	3	2	0	3

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Nicole (2022)	11 Nov 2022	10.8 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Fred (2021)	17 Aug 2021	25.1 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Claudette (2021)	20 Jun 2021	9.6 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Frances (2004)	8 Sep 2004	11.9 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Hanna (2002)	15 Sep 2002	40.9 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Jerry (1995)	27 Aug 1995	32.8 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Beryl (1994)	16 Aug 1994	34.5 mi	TS / TD	21 kt
Alberto (1994)	5 Jul 1994	2.1 mi	TS / TD	17 kt
Edith (1971)	18 Sep 1971	42.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Irene (1959)	9 Oct 1959	40.1 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Arlene (1959)	2 Jun 1959	26.3 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Debbie (1957)	9 Sep 1957	22.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	12 Aug 1940	3.6 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	15 Aug 1928	39.0 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	5 Sep 1915	29.8 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1911)	30 Aug 1911	31.9 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1903)	15 Sep 1903	6.0 mi	TS / TD	32 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	14 Jun 1901	44.6 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1900)	15 Sep 1900	23.1 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	3 Oct 1898	24.7 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	1 Sep 1898	46.9 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	3 Oct 1893	17.4 mi	TS / TD	47 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	28 Jul 1887	3.7 mi	TS / TD	31 kt
Unnamed Storm (1882)	10 Sep 1882	36.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1859)	16 Sep 1859	9.0 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	27 Aug 1852	37.8 mi	TS / TD	40 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 5 systems passed within 50 miles after losing tropical characteristics. These are excluded from the counts above because they were no longer tropical cyclones at their closest approach — but several were highly damaging, so they are listed here.

Storm	Status	Closest approach	Distance	Wind
Sally (2020)	Post-tropical	17 Sep 2020	31.4 mi	30 kt
Lee (2011)	Post-tropical	6 Sep 2011	45.3 mi	19 kt
Unnamed Storm (1912)	Post-tropical	14 Jun 1912	6.0 mi	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1907)	Post-tropical	23 Sep 1907	29.3 mi	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	Post-tropical	11 Oct 1902	26.5 mi	35 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1852–2025. Tracks are recorded every six hours and are interpolated to one-hour steps before distances are measured, so closest-approach figures are not distorted by the sampling interval. Distances are measured to the county's Census internal point, not to its nearest boundary, so a storm listed at 55 miles may still have crossed the coastline — see Methodology. Records before about 1900 are sparser and less precise than modern ones, and storms that stayed at sea were less likely to be recorded at all.

How Fayette County, Georgia compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Fayette County, Georgia ranks #606 — more exposed than 72.5% of them. Within Georgia it ranks #110 of 159, against a state average of 39.8 storms per county.

Notable storms

TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1893) passed 17 miles away on 3 October 1893 as a tropical storm, reaching 48 kt (55 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1898) passed 25 miles away on 3 October 1898 as a tropical storm, reaching 43 kt (49 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1882) passed 36 miles away on 10 September 1882 as a tropical storm, reaching 43 kt (49 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1915) passed 30 miles away on 5 September 1915 as a tropical storm, reaching 40 kt (46 mph) while within 50 miles.

25 of the 26 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 6.7 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 26 storms spread over the 174 years from 1852 to 2025. 4 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while decades have gone by with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 23 years, between 1859 and 1882. It has been 3 years since the last one; 14 of the 21 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

Has a hurricane ever hit Fayette County, Georgia?

No. No tropical cyclone on record has passed within 50 miles of Fayette County, Georgia while at hurricane strength. 26 tropical cyclones have passed within that distance since 1852, all of them as tropical storms or depressions. The strongest was Unnamed Storm (1893).

When was the last tropical cyclone in Fayette County, Georgia?

Nicole (2022), on 11 November 2022, passing 11 miles away — 4 years ago. No storm on record has passed within 50 miles of Fayette County, Georgia at hurricane strength.

What was the strongest storm to affect Fayette County, Georgia?

Unnamed Storm (1893), which reached 48 kt (55 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 17 miles.

How often does a tropical storm reach Fayette County, Georgia?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 6.7 years — 26 storms over the 174 years from 1852 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

Fayette County, Georgia borders or sits close to 4 other counties with a published storm record. Coweta County, Georgia has 30 on record.

Coweta County, Georgia30 storms within 50 mi Spalding County, Georgia26 storms within 50 mi Clayton County, Georgia25 storms within 50 mi Fulton County, Georgia24 storms within 50 mi