EF0 Tornado — Schley, Georgia

2009-03-15 · near Walls Crossing, Schley, Georgia

Event narrative

The Marion County Emergency Management Director reported that the tornado, which began in eastern Marion county approximately two miles northwest of Putnam, continued on a two-mile east-northeastward track into extreme western Schley county. The tornado lifted approximately 2.1 miles northwest of Walls Crossing. The tornado continued to have a maximum path width in Schley county of 100 yards. Within Schley county, nearly 500 trees were either snapped or uprooted along the brief 1/2 mile long path. No structural damage was reported within Schley county.

Wider weather episode

A relatively weak and broad upper trough was progressing slowly from the mid-south into the southeast U.S. from March 15th through the 16th. A weak cold front accompanied the system and was located across southern Alabama and southern Georgia, with a surface low pressure system located along the front across southeastern Alabama. Although instability was non-existent because of a relatively cool, stable air mass over the region, strong low-level shear and a low level jet were evident across central Georgia. The shear was sufficient enough that a heavy shower, with no indicated cloud-to-ground lightning, produced a brief 2-mile long EF0 tornado across eastern Marion and western Schley counties during the early afternoon.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.2700, -84.4000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 156902. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.