Hail — Gwinnett, Georgia

2009-02-18 · near Lilburn, Gwinnett, Georgia

Event narrative

A deputy with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's office observed larger than golf ball-sized hail in the Lilburn area. The Gwinnett County 911 Center relayed reports of quarter-sized hail near Lilburn. Approximately three miles southwest of Snellville, a trained spotter observed quarter-sized hail. Hail up to three inches in diameter was reported just across the border in Loganville in Walton county as the storm continued moving east-southeast.

Wider weather episode

A strong cold front accompanied and deep negatively tilted upper trough through the eastern U.S. from the 18th into the 19th. An unseasonably warm and unstable air mass developed in advance of the cold front during the late afternoon and early evening across north and central Georgia as warm, moist air rode northward into Georgia on a strong low-level jet. Afternoon temperatures in the 70s and dewpoints in the 60s, combined with strong shear and moderate instability, resulted in the development of numerous supercell thunderstorms from mid-afternoon until a few hours after midnight on the 19th. Ten tornadoes, ranging in scale from EF0 to EF3 tracked across several north and central Georgia counties. The worst tornadoes affected the east central Georgia counties of Jasper, Putnam, Hancock, and Jasper. A death was observed in Hancock county with an EF3 tornado and several injuries were reported from Putnam and Hancock counties. In addition to the tornadoes, very large hail occurred with several of the thunderstorms, including four-inch diameter hail in Coweta and Fayette counties just south of Atlanta. Numerous reports of golf ball and larger-sized hail were received. The event resulted in millions of dollars of damage and the destruction of several homes in north and central Georgia counties.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.8662, -84.1703)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 153168. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.