EF1 tornado in Jasper County, Georgia

An aerial and ground survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia in cooperation with the Jasper county Emergency Management Director confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in far eastern Jasper county, approximately one mile west of Smithboro. The tornado continued on a 3-mile long eastward path parallel to and just south of Georgia Highway 16, lifting just before reaching the Putnam county line. This was one of two EF1 tornadoes to touch down in Jasper county on this date. The same thunderstorm that spawned this tornado continued on to produce yet another EF1 tornado near Eatonton and later an EF3 tornado in Hancock county. Several homes near Georgia Highway 16 were damaged, one in Smithboro sustaining major damage. A saw mill warehouse was destroyed. Many trees and power lines were down along the path of the tornado.

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.