EF1 tornado in Putnam County, Georgia

An aerial and ground survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in cooperation with the Putnam County Emergency Management Director confirmed that an EF1 tornado carved an approximate 8-9 mile track across Putnam county very near Georgia Highway 16. The tornado first touched down near Williard, west of Eatonton and continued on an east-southeastward track toward, lifting very near the Hancock county line. Much of the resulting damage occurred near Glenwood Springs Road. A restaurant and two other commercial buildings were completely destroyed on the southwest side of Eatonton. At least one person was injured from debris in this area. A number of trees were either uprooted or snapped along the path of the tornado, along with many downed power lines. U.S. Highway 129, south of Eatonton, was closed for several hours as it was blocked from numerous downed trees and power lines. Several individuals were trapped in their vehicles in this area. The tornado was determined to have a maximum path width of 3/4 mile. Maximum winds gusts within the tornado were estimated to have been 110 mph.

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.