EF1 Tornado — Mitchell, Georgia

2025-03-16 · near Sale City, Mitchell, Georgia

Event narrative

This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 105 mph. The tornado began south of Highway 37 in an open field between Rigsby Lake and Antioch Road, where it snapped and uprooted a few hardwood trees, and also bent a portion of a center-pivot irrigation apparatus. It then moved quickly northeast and crossed Highway 37 into Pebble City, where it destroyed two structures: A tin volunteer fire department building, and a community/voting center, which collapsed onto itself when the supporting cinder blocks gave way. The tornado also snapped numerous softwood trees behind both of these structures. As it raced northeastward towards Sale City Road, the tornado snapped more softwood trees and a few wooden power poles. When it reached Millard Road, the tornado continued to snap trees, with more extensive tree damage being noted along Massey Bog Road. As it moved just east of Highway 93 along Old Doerun Road, the tornado caused a double-wide manufactured home with straps to shift approximately 18 inches off its cinder block foundation, blew out the windows of two single family homes, and uprooted several softwood trees. Before it dissipated at Greenough Road, the tornado uprooted another softwood tree.

Wider weather episode

A moist and unstable airmass with steep mid-level lapse rates ahead of a cold front resulted in scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms. Large hail occurred across southeast Alabama, and sporadic wind damage occurred across the Florida panhandle. One tornado occurred in southwest Georgia.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.2453, -84.0760)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1239421. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.