EF1 Tornado — Randolph, Georgia

2023-06-14 · near Pachitla, Randolph, Georgia

Event narrative

A pair of tornadoes touched down east of Cuthbert near Trinity Church Road. This tornado was the northern circulation, which touched down near the intersection of Trinity Church Road and Wilton Rigsby Road, causing tree damage and damage to an old out building. Further east, roof damage to a single family home and significant tree damage was noted supportive of an EF-1 rating with winds of approximately 110 mph. The tornado continued east, damaging a church, a mobile home, several stands of trees, and tossing debris into nearby fields. This circulation appears to have dissipated in a field near the intersection of Trinity Church Road and Wooten Road.

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.7995, -84.7090)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1114023. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.