EF1 tornado in Jefferson County, Georgia

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the EF1 tornado that initially touched down in extreme eastern Glascock county continued into far northern Jefferson county along a five mile-long path before lifting approximately three miles northeast of Stapleton. The tornado was determined to have a maximum path width of 200 yards with maximum winds estimated at 110 mph. The majority of the damage associated with this tornado occurred in Jefferson county. Significant damage was observed to the Heartsgrove Baptist Church at the intersection of Georgia Highways 80 and 296, just across from the Glascock county line. Part of the roof, brick siding, and the chimney were removed from the structure. Several granite headstones in the adjacent cemetery were tipped over. Many trees were down along the path of the tornado, especially along a 3/4 mile-long path east of the damaged church.

A vigorous upper closed low was moving from the mid-south and Mississippi valley region into the mid-Atlantic and southeast U.S. A strong cold front accompanied the upper system. A strong low-level jet in advance of these weather systems transported warm, moist Gulf air northward into the region. With strong dynamics, hence shear, combined with an unusually moist, unstable atmosphere, the atmosphere was primed for a major weather outbreak. One round of thunderstorms passed through north Georgia during the early morning hours. A few minor severe weather events accompanied this system in northwest Georgia. Partial clearing followed the morning convection, allowing temperatures to soar into the mid 70s across much of north and central Georgia in advance of the main weather system. Scattered to numerous discrete supercell thunderstorms developed during mid-afternoon in northwest Georgia and progressed east and southeast across the remaining portions of the county warning area during the evening hours. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes lingered into the early morning hours of the 11th across the southern counties of central Georgia. During the eight hour period from 5 pm EDT on April 10th to 1 am EDT on April 11th, a total of 14 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in north and central Georgia causing millions in damages. While some injuries were observed, no deaths were observed.