EF2 tornado in Spalding County, Georgia

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the tornado that initially touched down in Meriwether county, then tracked across southern Coweta county, crossed into Spalding county approximately four miles east-northeast of Haralson or 7 miles west of Zetella. The tornado remain an EF2 as it tracked across southwest and into south central Spalding county, lifting just shy of the Pike county line about five miles west of Rover. Extensive damage was observed along the track of the tornado Four homes were completely destroyed and 40 others sustained minor to moderate damage. Dozens of trees were also down along the path of the tornado. The tornado tracked roughly five miles with southern Spalding county with a maximum path width of one mile and maximum winds of 120 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.