EF2 Tornado — Henry, Georgia

2025-05-29 · near Greenwood, Henry, Georgia

Event narrative

An EF2 tornado with maximum winds of 135 mph quickly developed

during the afternoon hours of May 29, 2025 in Henry County. A storm which had a

history of very weak and broad rotation moved into the southern part of the county (Henry) and quickly spawned a tornado as it crossed Bethlehem Road

at approximately 3:31pm EDT. Just north of Bethlehem Road, a few

trees were downed to indicate where the tornado first touched

down. As the tornado tracked northeast, it quickly intensified to

EF1 strength, snapping and uprooting trees in a wooded region

behind several homes along Curry Ridge in the Laurel Creek

Subdivision. The tornado reached maximum intensity as it reached

Fresh Laurel Lane in the subdivision. Several homes sustained EF1

damage near the end of the road including significant loss of

siding and shingles, windows blown out, and in one instance,

partial collapse of the roof/wall structure. The last home along

the street is where the tornado reached maximum intensity of EF2.

The home was completely destroyed with the exception of a small

interior closet on the first floor where the clothes were still

hanging. Both occupants of the home were injured, one critically

when he was thrown 287 feet from the house into the nearby woods

according to Henry County EMA. The home demonstrated strength in

the construction with attached baseboards including the use of

clips, however the failure point was in the wall attachment where

the wall studs were only nailed into the baseplate. While a high

end EF2 tornado is determined for this point, there was not enough

evidence to support a higher rating of EF3. Debris was thrown

hundreds of yards to the east and the northeast from the home

including significant portions of the roof, clothing, and a metal

pipe used in A/C unit. To the northeast of the destroyed home, all

the trees that remained in a field being cleared were snapped and

uprooted consistent with high end EF1 and low end EF2 damage. The

tornado continued to the Northeast crossing Academic Parkway

through an apartment complex where EF0 to low end EF1 damage was

noted to the trees and buildings in the area. The tornado then

crossed Interstate 75 at approximately 3:34PM per numerous cell

phone video of the tornado. Trees were downed on the southbound

lane of I75. As the tornado approached Hwy 42, there were several

uprooted trees on the back of an industrial building and a few

trees snapped in the front. The tornado crossed Hwy 42 and began

to weaken with only minor tree damage noted in and around a large

industrial building. The tornado lifted as it crossed Distribution

Drive where small branches and leaf debris was noted. Both radar

and ground truth confirm that the tornado had significantly

weakened as it reached Distribution Drive. The tornado was very

short lived and only on the ground for 1.8 miles and 5 minutes,

but demonstrated how quickly a strong tornado can develop.

Wider weather episode

Widespread showers and thunderstorms due to a passing low pressure system were interrupted by a lone cell which rode along a boundary near the center of the low. This storm generated a strong but shallow rotation which became a brief strong (EF2) tornado. A couple of serious injuries were reported with this storm as a home was torn apart by the tornado soon after it formed. The tornado proceeded to cross I-75 and dissipated soon after.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.3766, -84.1499)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1267781. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.