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F3 tornado in Cobb County, Georgia

Tornado February 21, 1993 · Cobb County, Georgia

F3
Rating
8.0 mi
Path length
880 yd
Path width
3
Injuries
$50.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado touched down near Lost Mountain in Western Cobb County and proceded on an east southeat path across rural portions of the county, initially uprooting mainly trees and downing power lines. As the tornado moved over Marietta it touched down and caused severe damage to two condominium complexes, a large strip shopping center, and several apartment complexes. Over 400 condominiums, apartments, businesses, and mobile homes sustained damage from the tornado. Of the 400 structures damaged, 113 were mobile homes. In Marietta, several mobile home parks were severely damaged near Dobbins Air Force Base. Several businesses and industrial parks in Marietta sustained major damage. Box cars were pushed off railroad tracks. Numerous trees, poles, and power lines were downed which caused extensive power outages. Many of the trees were twisted or snapped in half. Over 9,100 Marietta Georgia Power customers lost their power as a result of the tornado.

Began near Lost Mountain To (33.9300, -84.7000).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 10319426. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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