Screven County, Georgia Hurricane History

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

Since 1851, 51 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Screven County, Georgia — about one every 3.4 years. Of those, 7 were at hurricane strength at their closest approach. The most recent was Idalia (2023), which passed 31 miles away on 30 August 2023.

Storms within 50 mi

At hurricane strength

3.4

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 · 2Cat 1 · 6TS / TD · 43

The 51 storms by the strongest category each reached while within 50 miles. 2 of them reached Cat 2.

Key facts

Most recentIdalia (2023) — 31 mi away, 30 August 2023
Strongest stormUnnamed Storm (1893) — 87 kt (100 mph) at its strongest within 50 miles
Closest pass on recordUnnamed Storm (1885) — 2.0 miles
Closest major hurricane (Cat 3+)None on record
Passes within 25 miles22 of 51
Peak monthAugust — 14 storms (27% of all)
Most active year1852 — 2 storms
Most active decade1850s and 1880s — 5 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 Screven County, Georgia, August is the most active month, with 14 of the 51 recorded storms (27%). The primary season runs August to October, accounting for 71% of all activity. The 1850s and 1880s are tied as the most active decades on record, with 5 storms. 0 of the 51 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	2	6	4	14	13	9	3	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: 12 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
5	0	3	5	4	4	2	1	1	4	3	3	4	3	1	3	3	2

Every tropical or subtropical cyclone within 50 miles

Storm	Closest approach	Distance	Status	Wind
Idalia (2023)	30 Aug 2023	31.2 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Elsa (2021)	8 Jul 2021	11.3 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Hermine (2016)	2 Sep 2016	34.0 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Andrea (2013)	7 Jun 2013	49.4 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Beryl (2012)	30 May 2012	39.2 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Alberto (2006)	14 Jun 2006	16.9 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (2003)	26 Jul 2003	37.6 mi	TS / TD	19 kt
Allison (2001)	13 Jun 2001	42.5 mi	TS / TD	23 kt
Gordon (1994)	21 Nov 1994	45.2 mi	TS / TD	20 kt
Chris (1988)	28 Aug 1988	30.3 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Charley (1986)	14 Aug 1986	27.0 mi	TS / TD	12 kt
Kate (1985)	22 Nov 1985	18.2 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
David (1979)	5 Sep 1979	32.5 mi	TS / TD	63 kt
Agnes (1972)	20 Jun 1972	46.4 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1971)	11 Sep 1971	39.7 mi	TD	—
Alma (1970)	26 May 1970	26.3 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Abby (1968)	7 Jun 1968	29.5 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Dora (1964)	13 Sep 1964	20.0 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Cleo (1964)	29 Aug 1964	10.1 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1953)	1 Sep 1953	37.5 mi	TS / TD	29 kt
Able (1952)	31 Aug 1952	48.7 mi	Cat 1	65 kt
Love (1950)	22 Oct 1950	17.4 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1946)	8 Oct 1946	6.6 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1944)	20 Oct 1944	41.7 mi	TS / TD	50 kt
Unnamed Storm (1941)	8 Oct 1941	10.1 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1940)	12 Aug 1940	33.2 mi	TS / TD	60 kt
Unnamed Storm (1935)	5 Sep 1935	13.1 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1924)	16 Sep 1924	46.8 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1915)	3 Aug 1915	30.0 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1911)	28 Aug 1911	28.3 mi	TS / TD	48 kt
Unnamed Storm (1909)	3 Jul 1909	24.3 mi	TS / TD	25 kt
Unnamed Storm (1904)	4 Nov 1904	17.4 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1902)	15 Jun 1902	13.9 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1901)	18 Sep 1901	12.2 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1898)	31 Aug 1898	19.4 mi	TS / TD	57 kt
Unnamed Storm (1896)	29 Sep 1896	43.7 mi	Cat 1	82 kt
Unnamed Storm (1894)	9 Oct 1894	27.2 mi	TS / TD	63 kt
Unnamed Storm (1893)	28 Aug 1893	26.4 mi	Cat 2	85 kt
Unnamed Storm (1888)	10 Sep 1888	15.6 mi	TS / TD	35 kt
Unnamed Storm (1887)	20 Oct 1887	42.6 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1886)	1 Jul 1886	6.2 mi	TS / TD	51 kt
Unnamed Storm (1885)	12 Oct 1885	2.0 mi	TS / TD	42 kt
Unnamed Storm (1884)	11 Sep 1884	8.7 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1877)	4 Oct 1877	22.6 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1873)	19 Sep 1873	49.5 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1871)	28 Aug 1871	27.6 mi	TS / TD	30 kt
Unnamed Storm (1856)	31 Aug 1856	17.6 mi	TS / TD	52 kt
Unnamed Storm (1854)	9 Sep 1854	6.9 mi	Cat 1	67 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	10 Oct 1852	10.4 mi	TS / TD	53 kt
Unnamed Storm (1852)	27 Aug 1852	41.9 mi	TS / TD	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1851)	24 Aug 1851	30.6 mi	TS / TD	53 kt

Post-tropical and extratropical passes

A further 10 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. Showing the 9 most recent.

Storm	Status	Closest approach	Distance	Wind
Fay (2020)	Remnant low	8 Jul 2020	38.4 mi	20 kt
Nestor (2019)	Post-tropical	20 Oct 2019	25.0 mi	40 kt
Gordon (2000)	Post-tropical	18 Sep 2000	25.8 mi	25 kt
Earl (1998)	Post-tropical	3 Sep 1998	10.2 mi	40 kt
Allison (1995)	Post-tropical	6 Jun 1995	7.5 mi	35 kt
Flossy (1956)	Post-tropical	26 Sep 1956	4.0 mi	41 kt
Florence (1953)	Post-tropical	27 Sep 1953	48.2 mi	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1947)	Post-tropical	24 Sep 1947	34.0 mi	40 kt
Unnamed Storm (1924)	Post-tropical	30 Sep 1924	29.8 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.

How Screven County, Georgia compares

Among the 2,208 U.S. counties and county-equivalents that have recorded at least one tropical cyclone within 50 miles, Screven County, Georgia ranks #192 — more exposed than 91.3% of them. Within Georgia it ranks #50 of 159, against a state average of 39.8 storms per county.

Notable storms

Cat 2 Unnamed Storm (1893) passed 26 miles away on 28 August 1893 as a hurricane, reaching 87 kt (100 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 2 Unnamed Storm (1896) passed 44 miles away on 29 September 1896 as a hurricane, reaching 85 kt (98 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 Unnamed Storm (1854) passed 7 miles away on 9 September 1854 as a hurricane, reaching 78 kt (90 mph) while within 50 miles.
Cat 1 David (1979) passed 32 miles away on 5 September 1979 as a hurricane, reaching 70 kt (81 mph) while within 50 miles.

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

How often to expect a storm

A return interval of 3.4 years does not mean storms arrive on a schedule. It is simply 51 storms spread over the 175 years from 1851 to 2025. 2 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 15 years, between 1856 and 1871. It has been 2 years since the last one; 22 of the 48 gaps in this record were longer than that.

Common questions

How many hurricanes have hit Screven County, Georgia?

7 tropical cyclones have passed within 50 miles of Screven County, Georgia at hurricane strength since 1851. Counting all tropical cyclones — including tropical storms and depressions — the total is 51.

When was the last hurricane in Screven County, Georgia?

David (1979), on 5 September 1979, passing 32 miles away — 47 years ago. The most recent tropical cyclone of any strength was Idalia (2023) in 2023.

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

Unnamed Storm (1893), which reached 87 kt (100 mph) while within 50 miles; its closest approach was 26 miles.

How often do hurricanes hit Screven County, Georgia?

On average, one tropical cyclone passes within 50 miles every 3.4 years — 51 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

Screven County, Georgia borders or sits close to 6 other counties with a published storm record. Effingham County, Georgia has 72 on record.

Effingham County, Georgia72 storms within 50 mi Hampton County, South Carolina64 storms within 50 mi Bulloch County, Georgia61 storms within 50 mi Allendale County, South Carolina53 storms within 50 mi Jenkins County, Georgia45 storms within 50 mi Burke County, Georgia43 storms within 50 mi