EF3 Tornado — Hancock, Georgia

2009-02-18 · near Culverton, Hancock, Georgia

Event narrative

A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF3 tornado touched down approximately five miles east-southeast of Sparta, or about three miles east of the intersection of Georgia Highway 15 and 16. The tornado then moved along a nearly eight-mile long path across far southeast Hancock county and continued into extreme southern Warren county and then into extreme northwest Glascock county. The total tornado path length was nearly 11 miles long. The maximum path width was estimated to be 500 yards with maximum winds of 140 mph. A church, two site-built homes, and four mobile homes were completely destroyed in the Hickory Grove Community. One fatality and three injuries occurred where the mobile homes were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were either uprooted or snapped along the path of the tornado.

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 → (33.2600, -82.8900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 154540. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.