Valdosta, GA Tornado History — 56 Tornadoes Since 1950
How many tornadoes has Valdosta, GA had?
Valdosta has had 56 tornadoes on record within 25 miles since 1950, including 3 violent (EF3+) tornadoes.
When was the most recent tornado near Valdosta?
The most recent tornado within 25 miles of Valdosta was an EF2 on February 4, 2024.
When is tornado season in Valdosta?
April is historically the peak month for tornadoes near Valdosta, with 12 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 Valdosta
The last 20 years of confirmed tornadoes within 25 miles — 20 total, averaging 1.0 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 Valdosta
15 fatalities have been recorded within 25 miles of Valdosta since 1950, across 2 events. 85 injuries have been reported across all events. 2017 was the deadliest year on record.
The deadliest single event was an EF3 on January 22, 2017, which caused 11 fatalities along a 24.7-mile track.
Notable Tornadoes Near Valdosta
About Tornadoes in Valdosta
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.
January 22, 2017, fell on a Sunday, and it became a tragic date around Valdosta: an EF3 tornado tore a path nearly twenty-five miles long and seven hundred yards wide through the area, killing eleven people and injuring forty-five. Older chapters of the city's history carry similar scars. An F1 damaged property at the edge of town in June 1956, an F2 injured five people on April 25, 1982, and on April 19, 1988, an F3 killed four residents and injured eighteen along a twelve-mile track. The modern era added an EF3 on March 3, 2012, an EF2 that injured nine on December 29, 2014, an EF1 in April 2020, an EF2 in January 2023, and another EF2 on February 4, 2024, which hurt two more.
Those dates trace a seasonal rhythm. Valdosta sits on Georgia's flat coastal plain, near enough to the Gulf of Mexico that deep moisture is rarely absent. From late fall into spring, the subtropical jet stream strengthens and drives vigorous storm systems across the Deep South; their cold fronts and squall lines spin up rotating thunderstorms in that humid air, which is why the city's tornado dates cluster in December, January, February, March, and April. Summer convection, born of sea-breeze collisions rather than strong wind shear, tends to be tamer. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center's storm database preserves the details of these events.