Hail — Baldwin, Georgia

2008-05-20 · near Milledgeville, Baldwin, Georgia

Event narrative

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported golf ball to baseball-sized hail in Milledgeville. The hail combined with wind gusts in excess of 60 mph caused extensive damage to property in the area. The public also observed golf ball-sized hail in the far southeast part of the county, approximately 11 miles southeast of Milledgeville. The hail caused damage to the roofs of many homes and hundreds of vehicles. The Baldwin County Emergency Management Director reported that the large hail damaged 31 county vehicles costing the county at least $55,000. In addition, the hail caused damage to several county buildings, including the 911 Center, the sheriff's office, and the fire station. The Emergency Management Director observed that the hail remained on the ground for at least two hours after the event. Radar supports that large hail of golf ball size or larger likely fell in a wide swath from northwest to southeast Baldwin county.

Wider weather episode

An active and very unstable northwest flow continued across the southeast United States as the polar vortex remained very strong in the northeast United States. A disturbance rotated around the back side of the upper low into the southeast United States during the afternoon and evening. Multiple complexes of severe thunderstorms developed across north and central Georgia during the mid to later afternoon as a result and moved southeast during the evening hours. Large hail was the primary severe weather element observed during this outbreak, however an EF2 tornado developed in Cherokee county and caused extensive damage to hundreds of homes. This was the 45th tornado of the spring season for north and central Georgia.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.1107, -83.2667)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 105524. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.