Montgomery County, Georgia Hurricane History

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

Since 1851, 54 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Montgomery County, Georgia — about one every 3.2 years. Of those, 7 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Helene (2024), which passed 39 miles away on 27 September 2024.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

3.2

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.

How strong they get

Cat 1 · 6TS / TD · 48

The 54 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 6 of them reached Cat 1.

Key facts

Most recentHelene (2024) — 39 mi away, 27 September 2024
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1898) — 77 kt (89 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordUnnamed Storm (1933) — 2.5 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles26 of 54
Peak monthAugust — 13 storms (24% of all)
Most active year1871 — 2 storms
Most active decade1880s and 1940s — 6 storms
Major hurricanes (Cat 3+) within 50 mi0
Record span1851–2024

When storms arrive

JFMAMJJASOND

Storms by month of closest approach; the peak is highlighted and labelled. In Montgomery County, Georgia, August is the most active month, with 13 of the 54 recorded storms (24%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 69% of all activity. The 1880s and 1940s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 6 storms. 0 of the 54 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	9	5	13	12	12	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: 11 storms in 1950–1987 against 10 in 1988–2025.

1850s	1860s	1870s	1880s	1890s	1900s	1910s	1920s	1930s	1940s	1950s	1960s	1970s	1980s	1990s	2000s	2010s	2020s
3	1	3	6	3	5	3	1	2	6	3	4	1	3	2	3	2	3

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Helene (2024)	27 Sep 2024	39.4 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Idalia (2023)	30 Aug 2023	37.1 mi	TS / TD	58 kt
Elsa (2021)	8 Jul 2021	16.6 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Hermine (2016)	2 Sep 2016	34.1 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Beryl (2012)	29 May 2012	26.9 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Alberto (2006)	14 Jun 2006	13.7 mi	TS / TD	32 kt
Unnamed Storm (2003)	26 Jul 2003	28.2 mi	TS / TD	18 kt
Gordon (2000)	18 Sep 2000	49.6 mi	TS / TD	27 kt
Earl (1998)	3 Sep 1998	8.4 mi	TS / TD	41 kt
Allison (1995)	6 Jun 1995	10.9 mi	TS / TD	32 kt
Unnamed Storm (1987)	17 Aug 1987	29.1 mi	TS / TD	10 kt
Charley (1986)	14 Aug 1986	14.8 mi	TS / TD	10 kt
Kate (1985)	22 Nov 1985	12.1 mi	TS / TD	58 kt
Agnes (1972)	20 Jun 1972	48.9 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Abby (1968)	7 Jun 1968	29.3 mi	TS / TD	33 kt
Unnamed Storm (1966)	2 Jul 1966	26.9 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Alma (1966)	10 Jun 1966	45.0 mi	TS / TD	41 kt
Dora (1964)	12 Sep 1964	11.1 mi	TS / TD	59 kt
Unnamed Storm (1957)	9 Jun 1957	41.8 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1953)	1 Sep 1953	16.8 mi	TS / TD	27 kt
Love (1950)	22 Oct 1950	42.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1949)	28 Aug 1949	18.7 mi	TS / TD	62 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	15 Oct 1947	35.4 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	8 Oct 1947	41.6 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Unnamed Storm (1946)	8 Oct 1946	44.2 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1941)	8 Oct 1941	11.8 mi	TS / TD	43 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	12 Aug 1940	17.6 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1935)	5 Sep 1935	11.8 mi	TS / TD	54 kt
Unnamed Storm (1933)	6 Sep 1933	2.5 mi	TS / TD	39 kt
Unnamed Storm (1923)	27 Jun 1923	16.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	3 Aug 1915	17.6 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1912)	6 Sep 1912	46.5 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1911)	29 Aug 1911	7.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1909)	2 Jul 1909	6.5 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1907)	29 Sep 1907	38.6 mi	TS / TD	36 kt
Unnamed Storm (1904)	4 Nov 1904	10.9 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	15 Jun 1902	9.8 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	18 Sep 1901	35.0 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	2 Oct 1898	34.7 mi	Cat 1	69 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	31 Aug 1898	29.6 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	9 Oct 1894	17.7 mi	Cat 1	68 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	9 Sep 1888	43.3 mi	TS / TD	38 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	20 Oct 1887	48.5 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	1 Jul 1886	12.5 mi	TS / TD	54 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	22 Jun 1886	39.2 mi	TS / TD	44 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	12 Oct 1885	30.3 mi	TS / TD	47 kt
Unnamed Storm (1881)	28 Aug 1881	15.3 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1877)	3 Oct 1877	11.1 mi	TS / TD	45 kt
Unnamed Storm (1871)	6 Oct 1871	36.1 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1871)	28 Aug 1871	2.7 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1860)	13 Aug 1860	25.2 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1856)	31 Aug 1856	23.5 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	10 Oct 1852	11.9 mi	TS / TD	58 kt
Unnamed Storm (1851)	24 Aug 1851	35.0 mi	TS / TD	58 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 7 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
Nestor (2019)	Post-tropical	20 Oct 2019	20.4 mi	38 kt
Marco (1990)	Post-tropical	12 Oct 1990	23.5 mi	19 kt
Flossy (1956)	Post-tropical	25 Sep 1956	5.7 mi	38 kt
Florence (1953)	Post-tropical	27 Sep 1953	28.1 mi	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1929)	Post-tropical	1 Oct 1929	8.0 mi	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1924)	Post-tropical	30 Sep 1924	39.1 mi	55 kt
Unnamed Storm (1917)	Post-tropical	30 Sep 1917	12.1 mi	30 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.

How Montgomery County, Georgia compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Montgomery County, Georgia ranks #159 — more exposed than 92.8% of them. Within Georgia it ranks #41 of 159, against a state average of 39.8 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1898) passed 35 miles away on 2 October 1898 as a hurricane, reaching 77 kt (89 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Helene (2024) passed 39 miles away on 27 September 2024 as a hurricane, reaching 73 kt (84 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1947) passed 35 miles away on 15 October 1947 as a hurricane, reaching 72 kt (83 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1894) passed 18 miles away on 9 October 1894 as a hurricane, reaching 70 kt (81 mph) while within 50 miles.

51 of the 54 storms made a documented landfall somewhere along their track.

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 3.2 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 54 storms spread over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025. 5 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 13 years, between 1972 and 1985. It has been 1 year since the last one; 36 of the 48 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Montgomery County, Georgia?

7 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Montgomery County, Georgia at hurricane strength since 1851. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 54.

When was the last hurricane in Montgomery County, Georgia?

Helene (2024), on 27 September 2024, passing 39 miles away — 2 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Helene (2024) in 2024.

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

Unnamed Storm (1898), which reached 77 kt (89 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 35 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Montgomery County, Georgia?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 3.2 years — 54 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

Montgomery County, Georgia borders or sits close to 4 other counties with a published storm record. Jeff Davis County, Georgia has 63 on record.

Jeff Davis County, Georgia63 storms within 50 mi Toombs County, Georgia56 storms within 50 mi Wheeler County, Georgia55 storms within 50 mi Treutlen County, Georgia48 storms within 50 mi