EF0 Tornado — Newton, Georgia

2025-02-16 · near Stewart, Newton, Georgia

Event narrative

An EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 100 to 105 mph touched down in northeastern Butts County February 15, 2025 at 5:16AM EST. The tornado spun up within a strong line of storms moving rapidly eastward across northern GA early in the morning hours. The Tornado first touched down in a wooded region west of Winding Way road located west of Hwy 36. The tornado crossed Winding Way snapping and uprooting trees including one onto a home causing severe damage to the home. The tornado continued ENE reaching maximum intensity as it crossed Keys Ferry Road snapping and uprooting numerous trees. Additionally, approximately a dozen homes along Keys Ferry road sustained damage either directly from the wind or from falling trees consistent with mid and high end EF1 winds. Several homes had portions of the roof blown off while others were missing shingles. Several homes with trees on them sustained more significant damage. The tornado continued ENE crossing Walthall Road snapping and uprooting trees before reaching HWY 36 where one business sustained roof damage. The tornado continued eastward crossing Martin Road snapping trees and through an uninhabited area north of Haley Road snapping trees. Coincidentally, the area along Hwy 36 eastward through Martin road to the edge of Lake Jackson is the same area hit by the January 2023 tornado and damage from that tornado was still very evident among the new tornado damage. The tornado began to weaken as it crossed Henry Higgins Road and Haley road while still snapping and uprooting some trees. A home was damaged along Henry Higgins road from a tree. The tornado damage became more sporadic as it crossed Jackson Lake into Newton County where trees were downed in a wooded region along Mitchell Road. The tornado crossed the lake again knocking over a few trees near hwy 212 before lifting as it reached Blue Herron Dr.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front moved across the region during the early morning hours of Sunday the 16th. Modest instability and strong shear meant the main hazards were damaging winds and tornadoes. Several brief spin-up tornadoes were produced on the south side of the Atlanta metro, however the most widespread damage was along the I20 corridor where there were straight line winds near 70 mph. Sadly there was one fatality from a tree on a home in Fulton County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.3900, -83.8800)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1242512. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.