Jenkins County, Georgia Hurricane History

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

Since 1851, 45 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Jenkins County, Georgia — about one every 3.9 years. Of those, 6 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Idalia (2023), which passed 46 miles away on 30 August 2023.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

3.9

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.

How strong they get

Cat 2 · 1Cat 1 · 2TS / TD · 42

The 45 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 1 of them reached Cat 2.

Key facts

Most recentIdalia (2023) — 46 mi away, 30 August 2023
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1893) — 85 kt (98 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordUnnamed Storm (1901) — 3.5 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles18 of 45
Peak monthAugust — 13 storms (29% of all)
Most active year1852 — 2 storms
Most active decade1880s — 6 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1851–2023

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Jenkins County, Georgia, August is the most active month, with 13 of the 45 recorded storms (29%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 69% of all activity. The 1880s was the most active decade on record, with 6 storms. 0 of the 45 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	1	7	4	13	10	8	2	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: 9 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
5	0	2	6	3	4	2	0	2	4	2	3	2	2	1	4	1	2

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Idalia (2023)	30 Aug 2023	46.4 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Elsa (2021)	8 Jul 2021	10.0 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Hermine (2016)	2 Sep 2016	48.7 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Alberto (2006)	14 Jun 2006	4.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (2003)	26 Jul 2003	25.5 mi	TS / TD	18 kt
Allison (2001)	13 Jun 2001	32.3 mi	TS / TD	22 kt
Helene (2000)	23 Sep 2000	43.9 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Allison (1995)	6 Jun 1995	22.5 mi	TS / TD	34 kt
Charley (1986)	14 Aug 1986	26.9 mi	TS / TD	10 kt
Kate (1985)	22 Nov 1985	32.9 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Agnes (1972)	20 Jun 1972	32.3 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Alma (1970)	26 May 1970	46.8 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Abby (1968)	7 Jun 1968	10.3 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Dora (1964)	13 Sep 1964	33.1 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Cleo (1964)	29 Aug 1964	7.2 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1953)	1 Sep 1953	34.6 mi	TS / TD	28 kt
Love (1950)	22 Oct 1950	38.1 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1949)	28 Aug 1949	45.8 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1946)	8 Oct 1946	17.9 mi	TS / TD	47 kt
Unnamed Storm (1941)	8 Oct 1941	19.4 mi	TS / TD	41 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	12 Aug 1940	32.1 mi	TS / TD	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1935)	5 Sep 1935	8.0 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1933)	7 Sep 1933	30.7 mi	TS / TD	28 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	3 Aug 1915	10.4 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1911)	29 Aug 1911	27.3 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1909)	2 Jul 1909	30.0 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1904)	4 Nov 1904	29.6 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	15 Jun 1902	8.5 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	18 Sep 1901	3.5 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	31 Aug 1898	16.7 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	9 Oct 1894	36.0 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	28 Aug 1893	47.2 mi	Cat 2	85 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	10 Sep 1888	34.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	20 Oct 1887	30.8 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	1 Jul 1886	18.0 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	22 Jun 1886	45.8 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	12 Oct 1885	19.1 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Unnamed Storm (1884)	11 Sep 1884	28.5 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1877)	4 Oct 1877	7.5 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1871)	28 Aug 1871	33.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1856)	31 Aug 1856	7.1 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1854)	9 Sep 1854	27.6 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	10 Oct 1852	22.2 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	27 Aug 1852	35.1 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1851)	24 Aug 1851	17.1 mi	TS / TD	55 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 8 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
Fay (2020)	Remnant low	7 Jul 2020	35.2 mi	20 kt
Nestor (2019)	Post-tropical	20 Oct 2019	8.5 mi	39 kt
Gordon (2000)	Post-tropical	18 Sep 2000	43.8 mi	25 kt
Earl (1998)	Post-tropical	3 Sep 1998	14.8 mi	40 kt
Marco (1990)	Post-tropical	12 Oct 1990	42.8 mi	16 kt
Flossy (1956)	Post-tropical	26 Sep 1956	16.7 mi	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1929)	Post-tropical	1 Oct 1929	5.2 mi	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1924)	Post-tropical	30 Sep 1924	43.4 mi	55 kt

About this data. Computed from NOAA's HURDAT2 Atlantic and Northeast Pacific hurricane databases (hurdat2-1851-2025-02272026.txt), covering 1851–2025. 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.

Storms that came back

1 named storm in this record passed Jenkins County, Georgia more than once.

Allison — 2 passes (1995, 2001)

How Jenkins County, Georgia compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Jenkins County, Georgia ranks #251 — more exposed than 88.6% of them. Within Georgia it ranks #62 of 159, against a state average of 39.8 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 2 Unnamed Storm (1893) passed 47 miles away on 28 August 1893 as a hurricane, reaching 85 kt (98 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1854) passed 28 miles away on 9 September 1854 as a hurricane, reaching 73 kt (84 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1894) passed 36 miles away on 9 October 1894 as a hurricane, reaching 66 kt (76 mph) while within 50 miles.
TS / TD Unnamed Storm (1940) passed 32 miles away on 12 August 1940 as a hurricane, reaching 62 kt (71 mph) while within 50 miles.

42 of the 45 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 3.9 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 45 storms spread over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025. 3 separate years saw more than one storm pass within 50 miles while stretches of a decade or more have passed with none. The longest recorded quiet stretch was 18 years, between 1915 and 1933. It has been 2 years since the last one; 21 of the 41 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Jenkins County, Georgia?

6 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Jenkins County, Georgia at hurricane strength since 1851. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 45.

When was the last hurricane in Jenkins County, Georgia?

Kate (1985), on 22 November 1985, passing 33 miles away — 41 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Idalia (2023) in 2023.

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

Unnamed Storm (1893), which reached 85 kt (98 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 47 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Jenkins County, Georgia?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 3.9 years — 45 storms over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025, the end of the HURDAT2 record. That is a historical average, not a schedule or a forecast.

Nearby counties

Jenkins County, Georgia borders or sits close to 4 other counties with a published storm record. Bulloch County, Georgia has 61 on record.

Bulloch County, Georgia61 storms within 50 mi Screven County, Georgia51 storms within 50 mi Emanuel County, Georgia47 storms within 50 mi Burke County, Georgia43 storms within 50 mi