Hurricanes that hit Chatham County, Georgia: hurricane history

88 storms have passed within 50 km of Chatham County from 1853 to 2024, coloured by intensity on the map.

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Years1842 to 2026
Ocean basin

Choosing a minimum category hides storms with no wind speed in the record. To see which storms have passed near you, search a town or ZIP code, or tap the map.

Key
  • Tropical depression Winds below 34 knots (39 mph)
  • Tropical storm 34 to 63 knots (39 to 73 mph)
  • Category 1 64 to 82 knots (74 to 95 mph)
  • Category 2 83 to 95 knots (96 to 110 mph)
  • Category 3 96 to 112 knots (111 to 129 mph), major
  • Category 4 113 to 136 knots (130 to 156 mph), major
  • Category 5 137 knots (157 mph) or more, major
  • Unknown intensity No wind speed in the record
  • Post-tropical Storm has become post-tropical (dashed line)

How to read the lines. Each line is the track of one storm, drawn through its six-hourly positions and coloured by its intensity at each point (the Saffir-Simpson scale), so a line changes colour as the storm strengthens or weakens. Tap a line for its details, or tap anywhere else to see which storms have passed nearby. Weaker storms appear as you zoom in. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm with different names in different oceans.

Storms near Chatham County

The record holds 88 tropical cyclones whose tracks passed within 50 km of Chatham County, Georgia between 1853 and 2024. The busiest month is September, with 28 of them. The strongest, measured where each came closest to the place, reached category 3 strength. 3 of the storms have no wind speed in the record.

  • 88storms within 50 km
  • 3major (category 3 to 5) near here
  • 21at category 1 strength or more

A storm counts once, however many times it came close. The category is the storm's strongest point within 50 km, which can be weaker than its peak elsewhere.

How strong were the storms near Chatham County?

Category near hereStormsShare
Tropical depression1719%
Tropical storm4753%
Category 1910%
Category 2910%
Category 333%
Category 400%
Category 500%
Unknown intensity33%

The agency behind most of the intensity figures here is the NOAA National Hurricane Center (HURDAT2, Atlantic).

Chatham County storms over time

Storms by decade
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 7 in 1870s.1850s1870s1890s1910s1930s1950s1970s1990s2010s

The 2020s only run to 2024, so that bar is for a shorter period. This place's record starts in 1853, and records before the satellite era (about the 1960s) are far less complete.

Show the numbers
PeriodCount
1850s3
1860s5
1870s7
1880s7
1890s6
1900s4
1910s7
1920s3
1930s1
1940s6
1950s5
1960s4
1970s7
1980s6
1990s1
2000s5
2010s6
2020s5

Earlier decades hold fewer storms partly because they were harder to see. Before weather satellites (about the 1960s) many storms that stayed at sea went unrecorded, so compare decades with care.

Storms by month
Bar chart of storms by period. The most is 28 in Sep.Jan0Feb0Mar0Apr0May4Jun9Jul8Aug19Sep28Oct17Nov3Dec0
Show the numbers
PeriodCount
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May4
Jun9
Jul8
Aug19
Sep28
Oct17
Nov3
Dec0

Strongest storms near Chatham County

  • Unnamed storm of September 1854 (North Atlantic)2 September 1854 to 12 September 1854, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 938 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of August 1893 (North Atlantic)15 August 1893 to 2 September 1893, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 954 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of September 1896 (North Atlantic)22 September 1896 to 30 September 1896, peak Category 3 (110 kt), 960 hPa
  • Matthew (2016)28 September 2016 to 10 October 2016, Category 2 (95 kt) near here, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 934 hPa
  • Unnamed storm of October 1853 (North Atlantic)17 October 1853 to 23 October 1853, peak Category 2 (90 kt)

Most recent storms near Chatham County

  • Debby (2024)2 August 2024 to 10 August 2024, Tropical storm (45 kt) near here, peak Category 1 (70 kt), 980 hPa
  • Idalia (2023)26 August 2023 to 8 September 2023, Tropical storm (60 kt) near here, peak Category 3 (105 kt), 945 hPa
  • Colin (2022)1 July 2022 to 2 July 2022, peak Tropical storm (35 kt), 1,011 hPa

Many of these storms killed people and destroyed homes. The figures are the official record's, and this page says nothing about their human cost.

A storm that came near several counties counts in each one, so county counts add up to more than the state's.

Notable storms near Chatham County

  • David (1979)25 August 1979 to 8 September 1979, peak Category 5 (150 kt), 924 hPa
  • Matthew (2016)28 September 2016 to 10 October 2016, peak Category 5 (145 kt), 934 hPa
  • Cleo (1964)20 August 1964 to 11 September 1964, peak Category 4 (130 kt), 938 hPa
  • Dora (1964)28 August 1964 to 16 September 1964, peak Category 4 (115 kt), 942 hPa
  • Alma (1966)5 June 1966 to 14 June 1966, peak Category 3 (100 kt), 970 hPa

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