EF1 tornado in Laurens County, Georgia

A brief tornado occurred to the east of Rentz, GA in the early morning hours of March 12. Damage from the tornado was first observed on Etheridge Rd near the intersection of GB Lindsey Rd where a pine tree was knocked over into the road. The tornado

continued northeast, running parallel to GB Lindsey Rd where it caused minor shingle damage to the roof of a home and damaged large branches in nearby trees. Continuing northeast, the tornado uprooted or snapped about ten pine trees in close proximity

before causing significant damage to a home. At this home, winds appeared to have entered through the opening, and pushed the walls outward. The northern facing wall was pulled out off of its nails, with debris and cinderblocks from near its base thrown

over 50 feet away. This was consistent with EF1 damage with winds of 100 mph. A hardwood tree was also uprooted immediately outside the home. The tornado destroyed a large chicken coop on the northeast side of the home and moved it about 30 feet. The tornado continued northeastward across a field, causing damage to

large branches at the tree line and uprooting an additional tree near a reservoir, lifting shortly thereafter.

A strong cold front and associated QLCS system moved through central Georgia in the early morning hours of the 12th. Storms within the line were able to produce a few spots of wind damage, however the main hazard ended up being the numerous short lived and brief spin-up tornados which occurred in central Georgia. The strongest tornado was an EF2 near Marshallville.