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EF1 Tornado — Randolph, Georgia

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

$50K

Property damage

3.3 mi

Path length

425 yds

Path width

Event narrative

A pair of tornadoes touched down east of Cuthbert near Trinity Church Road. This tornado was the southern circulation, which touched along Wilton Rigsby Road south of Trinity Church Road. The tornado continued across several fields, causing tree damage along the way. A substantial steel farm storage building collapsed along Trinity Church Road, just east of Wooten Road. This damage was rated EF-1, with winds estimated to be approximately 110 mph. A grain silo was partially destroyed at this location as well. The tornado continued to move east southeast down Trinity Church Road, causing tree damage and damage to several home and manufactured homes. This damage was mostly rated EF-0 and low-end EF-1. The tornado appears to have weakened as it moved to the southeast and dissipated in a field east of Trinity Church 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 → (31.7892, -84.7104)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1114024. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.