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EF1 tornado in Chatham County, Georgia

Tornado June 19, 2008 · Chatham County, Georgia

EF1
Rating
0.8 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
$3.1M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The National Weather Service Office in Charleston, South Carolina completed a damage survey in Chatham county Georgia and determined that an EF-1 Tornado occurred. The Tornado developed around 3:37 pm just north of the intersection of Montgomery Cross Road and the Harry Truman Parkway and traveled south-southwest just west of the Harry Truman Parkway for aproximately 3/4 of a mile before lifting. The maximum width of the Tornado was about 100 yards, and maximum sustained winds were estimated at 90 to 100 mph. This Tornado damaged a fire station and uprooted and snapped off numerous trees.

The vast majority of the damage was caused by at least 5 strong downbursts. In general, fairly widespread damage occurred from the Bacon Park Golf Course starting around 3:32 pm and ended near the intersection of Ferguson Avenue and Route 204 around 3:45 pm. South and southeast of this intersection and north of the Bacon Park Golf Course damage was much more sporadic. In this concentrated damage area, damage was up to 2.5 miles wide. Downburst winds knocked the steeple off a church and knocked down or snapped off thousands of trees. Tree limbs and large branches damaged 40 to 50 homes, with about a dozen of the homes sustaining major damage. Trees or large limbs fell on and destroyed about a dozen vehicles. The winds knocked down power poles and power lines, resulting in thousands of people without power. In addition, shingle and siding damage was also observed on the some of the homes.

One of the areas of most significant damage occurred in the Lake View Subdivision just west of Ferguson Avenue. In this area downburst winds snapped off or uprooted numerous trees. Trees or large branches fell on at least a dozen homes, several homes sustained shingle or minor roof damage. One of the homes was deemed uninhabitable after a tree fell through it. Wind speeds in this area were estimated to be 80 to 90 mph.

Another area of significant damage occurred at a Gun Club between Ferguson Avenue and Harry Truman Parkway. In this area, strong winds destroyed a building and tossed an outbuilding about 30 yards. In addition, numerous large trees were snapped off or uprooted, with one tree landing on and damaging another building. Wind speeds in this area were estimated to be 90 to 100 mph.

The wider storm

A weak trough of low pressure in combination with the sea breeze in a well sheared and highly unstable environment, resulted in numerous thunderstorms across southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia.

Began near Sandfly (31.9900, -81.0700).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 118778. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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