Heard County, Georgia Tropical Cyclone History

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

Since 1852, 28 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Heard County, Georgia — about one every 6.2 years. Of those, 0 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Nicole (2022), which passed 32 miles away on 11 November 2022.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

6.2

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) — 32 mi away, 11 November 2022
Strongest stormEloise (1975) — 55 kt (63 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordUnnamed Storm (1915) — 7.2 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles15 of 28
Peak monthSeptember — 11 storms (39% of all)
Most active year1898 — 2 storms
Most active decade1900s and 1950s — 4 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 Heard County, Georgia, September is the most active month, with 11 of the 28 recorded storms (39%). Activity concentrates in June, August and September, together 71% of all storms. The 1900s and 1950s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 4 storms. 0 of the 28 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	5	4	4	11	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: 7 storms in 1950–1987 against 7 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
2	0	0	1	3	4	2	1	0	1	4	0	3	0	1	3	0	3

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Nicole (2022)	11 Nov 2022	31.7 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Fred (2021)	17 Aug 2021	8.7 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Claudette (2021)	20 Jun 2021	10.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Cindy (2005)	7 Jul 2005	33.3 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Frances (2004)	7 Sep 2004	21.6 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Hanna (2002)	15 Sep 2002	21.6 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Alberto (1994)	5 Jul 1994	15.1 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Eloise (1975)	23 Sep 1975	20.9 mi	TS / TD	51 kt
Edith (1971)	18 Sep 1971	39.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Becky (1970)	23 Jul 1970	27.7 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Irene (1959)	9 Oct 1959	26.1 mi	TS / TD	21 kt
Arlene (1959)	2 Jun 1959	28.2 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Debbie (1957)	9 Sep 1957	44.7 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Easy (1950)	7 Sep 1950	42.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	12 Aug 1940	37.5 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1928)	15 Aug 1928	7.5 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	4 Sep 1915	7.2 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1912)	14 Jun 1912	8.5 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Unnamed Storm (1906)	13 Jun 1906	38.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1903)	15 Sep 1903	8.7 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	14 Jun 1901	9.1 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1900)	15 Sep 1900	11.2 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	3 Oct 1898	8.0 mi	TS / TD	37 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	1 Sep 1898	35.2 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	3 Oct 1893	26.6 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	28 Jul 1887	25.0 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1859)	16 Sep 1859	23.6 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	27 Aug 1852	39.2 mi	TS / TD	40 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 6 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	41.2 mi	30 kt
Irma (2017)	Remnant low	12 Sep 2017	38.0 mi	25 kt
Lee (2011)	Post-tropical	6 Sep 2011	12.0 mi	20 kt
Five (2010)	Remnant low	14 Aug 2010	25.1 mi	15 kt
Unnamed Storm (1907)	Post-tropical	22 Sep 1907	15.4 mi	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	Post-tropical	11 Oct 1902	1.8 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 Heard County, Georgia compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Heard County, Georgia ranks #558 — more exposed than 74.7% of them. Within Georgia it ranks #98 of 159, against a state average of 39.8 storms per county.

Notable storms

TS / TD Eloise (1975) passed 21 miles away on 23 September 1975 as a tropical storm, reaching 55 kt (63 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1893) passed 27 miles away on 3 October 1893 as a tropical storm, reaching 50 kt (58 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1915) passed 7 miles away on 4 September 1915 as a tropical storm, reaching 42 kt (48 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1898) passed 8 miles away on 3 October 1898 as a tropical storm, reaching 41 kt (47 mph) while within 50 miles.

26 of the 28 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 6.2 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 28 storms spread over the 174 years from 1852 to 2025. 3 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while decades have gone by with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 28 years, between 1859 and 1887. It has been 3 years since the last one; 14 of the 24 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

Has a hurricane ever hit Heard County, Georgia?

No. No tropical cyclone on record has passed within 50 miles of Heard County, Georgia while at hurricane strength. 28 tropical cyclones have passed within that distance since 1852, all of them as tropical storms or depressions. The strongest was Eloise (1975).

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

Nicole (2022), on 11 November 2022, passing 32 miles away — 4 years ago. No storm on record has passed within 50 miles of Heard County, Georgia at hurricane strength.

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

Eloise (1975), which reached 55 kt (63 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 21 miles.

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

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 6.2 years — 28 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

Heard 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 Troup County, Georgia29 storms within 50 mi Randolph County, Alabama28 storms within 50 mi Carroll County, Georgia26 storms within 50 mi