Roswell, GA Tornado History — 118 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Roswell, GA had?
Roswell has had 118 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 10 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Roswell?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Roswell was an EF0 on May 20, 2025.
When is tornado season in Roswell?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Roswell, with 26 on record. Spring through early summer (April–June) generally sees the highest activity across most of the central and southern United States.
At a Glance
Recent Tornado Activity Near Roswell
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 38 total, averaging 1.9 per year over this window.
Tornadoes by Decade
Tornadoes by Enhanced Fujita Rating
F0–F5 ratings (pre-2007) are grouped with their EF equivalents. The Enhanced Fujita scale replaced the original Fujita scale in February 2007.
Tornadoes by Month
Casualties on Record Near Roswell
18 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Roswell since 1950, across 9 events. 453 injuries have been reported across all events. 1974 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was a F4 on April 3, 1974, which caused 6 fatalities along a 17.7-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Roswell
About Tornadoes in Roswell
This overview was written August 10, 2026. The tornado counts and notable-event figures elsewhere on this page reflect the latest data and may differ from this summary.
The Georgia Piedmont, the belt of rolling hills stretched between the southern Appalachians and the coastal plain, turns stormy whenever humid air off the Gulf of Mexico surges north ahead of a cold front or a deep upper-level trough. Roswell occupies a telling piece of that landscape: set on wooded ridges above the Chattahoochee River at the northern edge of metropolitan Atlanta, it lies close enough to the mountains for terrain-steered southerly winds to sharpen low-level shear, yet far enough south that Gulf moisture arrives largely unimpeded. Activity here favors early spring, though unseasonably warm late-autumn and winter pattern shifts can reopen the storm season.
The NOAA Storm Prediction Center's archive for the Roswell area reflects that dual character. An F4 carved a 17.7-mile path through the area on April 4, 1974, killing 6 people and injuring 30 during that spring's sprawling outbreak. On March 24, 1975, an F3 roughly 500 yards wide killed 3 people and injured 152. A cool-season F4 followed on November 22, 1992, running 20 miles and injuring 46. Decades of spring threats have been punctuated by days like March 15, 2008, when an EF2 killed a resident and injured 30 more. The event list elsewhere on this page traces the fuller pattern.