North and Central Georgia have already seen 13 tornadoes in 2026, and the calendar has barely turned to spring.
That’s according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service office in Atlanta, which has been tracking and surveying tornado damage across the region since January. The tally includes three separate weather events, two injuries, and damage stretching from Carroll County in the west to Laurens County in the east.
The season is still young — but forecasters say the numbers are already adding up.
January Sets the Tone
The year’s first confirmed tornado touched down on the morning of January 10th in Carroll County, just south of Lowell.
The National Weather Service says the EF-1 twister packed winds near 95 miles per hour and carved a path just over a mile long before lifting. Surveyors found a two-story home with significant roof and wall damage, and a nearby barn nearly destroyed — with six-by-six support poles ripped clean out of concrete-anchored ground. Debris from that barn was thrown more than 300 yards.
No one was hurt.
March 12th: Eight Tornadoes Before Breakfast
The most active single day of the year so far came in the early morning hours of March 12, when a line of storms swept through Central Georgia and spawned eight tornadoes — ranging from EF-0 to EF-2 — before most residents had finished their morning coffee.
The strongest of the bunch touched down in Macon County, where the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-2 tornado with peak winds of 112 miles per hour. The twister tore through a mobile home community on Sleepy Hollow Road, destroying four homes, overturning another, and injuring two people. One resident was thrown approximately 40 feet from a destroyed home. The anchors holding one overturned mobile home — set in concrete — were ripped straight out of the ground.
Those are the only two injuries reported in any of this year’s tornado events, according to the National Weather Service.
The same storm system also produced an EF-1 tornado in Forsyth County — narrowly missing Mary Persons High School — and another EF-1 in North Bibb County, where homes along McCleary Lane and Lochewolde Drive sustained broken windows, blown-in garage doors, and significant roof damage. A large electrical transmission pole was knocked across Tucker Road.
In Peach and Houston counties, a fourth tornado — also rated EF-1 — snapped power poles along Highway 96 and damaged several structures. Two EF-0 tornadoes touched down in Dooly and Baldwin counties, with one downing a tree onto a vehicle in Milledgeville and another damaging a city public works building on Charlton Street.
Two more tornadoes — both in Laurens County — rounded out the March 12th event. One EF-1 near Rentz caused significant structural damage to a home, pushing walls outward and scattering cinderblocks more than 50 feet. A large chicken coop was picked up and moved roughly 30 feet.
March 16th: A Cold Front Brings Four More
Just four days later, a powerful cold front swept through the region in the early morning hours of March 16, spawning four additional EF-0 tornadoes across North and Central Georgia.
The most notable of the four touched down in southeast DeKalb County, near the Snapfinger community, just after 6 in the morning. The National Weather Service says the tornado uprooted a tree onto a home along Tarragon Drive, trapping a teenager in a second-floor bedroom. As it continued east into the Valley Oaks neighborhood, two more trees came down on homes — with at least one narrowly missing residents who were still in bed.
Two EF-0 tornadoes also touched down in Upson County — one near Sunset Village and another near Yatesville — causing tree damage and minor structural damage to homes and outbuildings.
A fourth EF-0 tornado moved through North Bibb County near Macon, producing winds up to 85 miles per hour. The National Weather Service says the storm uprooted trees onto homes, damaged vehicles, and overturned a U-Haul truck near Pierce Avenue and Northwoods Academy.
By the Numbers
According to the National Weather Service in Atlanta, here is where the 2026 tornado season stands as of March 18th:
- 13 total tornadoes
- 7 rated EF-0 — winds between 65 and 85 miles per hour
- 5 rated EF-1 — winds between 86 and 110 miles per hour
- 1 rated EF-2 — winds between 111 and 135 miles per hour
- 0 fatalities
- 2 injuries
The National Weather Service notes that all tornado information is preliminary and subject to change pending final review and publication in NWS Storm Data.
