EF2 Tornado — Early, Georgia

2023-06-14 · near Blakely, Early, Georgia

Event narrative

A tornado touched down just east of the intersection of Odom Lane and Cedar Springs Lane south of Blakely. Several snapped pine trees were found, consistent with EF-1 damage. The tornado then crossed Georgia Highway 39 where several large branches were broken off. The top bar of a chain-link fence was pulled out and a wooden fence was also blown down in this area south of Blakely. The tornado then moved eastward, roughly paralleling south of Damascus Street, snapping and uprooting both hardwood and softwood trees. The tornado crossed Waller Road south of Damascus Street, causing significant roof damage to a single-family home as well as uprooting and snapping several trees nearby. A large area of snapped pine trees was spotted south of Damascus Street between Waller Road and Sandy Bottom Road. The tornado then turned slightly to the northeast, crossing the intersection of Damascus Street and Sandy Bottom Road. Here, the damage was consistent with EF-2 intensity. Significant roof damage was done to a single-family home and numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped in the area. The tornado continued northeastward toward Giles-Hightower Road near the intersection of Mays Ford Road. A barn's walls collapsed here along with many other snapped and uprooted trees. Tree damage continued to the northeast south of Mays Ford Road, generally consistent with EF-1 damage. More tree damage was observed along Old Damascus Road and Georgia Highway 45. The tornado turned a bit more northeastward and crossed Georgia Highway 216 where more snapped and uprooted trees were found. Another area of EF-2 damage was then observed along Quail Country Road in far northeast Early County. Large sheds were completely destroyed here with large swaths of pine trees snapped. A double-wide manufactured home lost its roof and a couple exterior walls. Damage cost was estimated.

Wider weather episode

The middle part of June was unusually stormy across the area. Numerous rounds of strong to severe storms impacted the region with multiple squall lines that produced severe winds as well as supercells that produced large hail and tornadoes. Heavy rain also occurred over a multi-day period, which saturated the ground and led to some instances of flash flooding.

The synoptic pattern featured well above average 250 mb zonal wind anomalies, which were traceable back to an active subtropical jet stream. Greater than average instability was also present, in part due to anomalously warm Gulf of Mexico SSTs. This combination of above average shear from the active subtropical jet and above average instability from the warmer than average SSTs provided a synoptic environment favorable for severe weather as upper level shortwaves moving through the area. This pattern persisted for many days, leading to an unusually large amount of severe weather.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1114008. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.