EF0 Tornado — Pickens, Georgia

2023-07-20 · near Scarecorn, Pickens, Georgia

Event narrative

This tornado developed withing a large scale straight line wind

event which occurred across Pickens County. Similar to the other

tornado in Pickens county, this tornado developed on the north

side of a large surge in winds as denoted both on radar and

widespread wind damage on the ground. This EF0 tornado (peak winds estimated around 80 mph) first developed in a wooded area northwest of Carver Mill Road to the

west of the intersection of Carver Mill Rd and Dean Trail. Trees

were snapped or uprooted along its path which nearly paralleled

Carver Mill Rd until it crossed Hwy 53. Trees and powerlines were

downed along Carver Mill Rd, Dean Mill Rd, Red Branch Rd, Bradley

Rd and Perrow Hwy. The tornado tracked southwest crossing Hwy 53

near Thompson Lane where trees were snapped and uprooted. Some

minor roof damage was also noted in the area. The tornado

dissipated shortly after crossing Hwy 53.

Wider weather episode

A large squall-line (Mesoscale Convective System) moved across mainly North and East-Central GA during the afternoon and early evening hours of July 20th. Conditions were very favorable for damaging winds along and ahead of well-developed cold pool, with high instability and elevated Downdraft-CAPE. Widespread damage occurred from far north Georgia to east-central GA (Warren County), with very intense winds (80-90+mph) estimated from damage across parts of Cherokee and Forsyth counties. A couple of brief embedded weak tornadoes occurred in Cherokee County from this system.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.4937, -84.6056)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1125519. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.