EF3 Tornado — Sumter, Georgia

2007-03-01 · near Plains, Sumter, Georgia

Event narrative

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia concluded that the EF3 tornado that first touched down in southeast Webster county continued to track northeast from the southwest to the northeast corner of Sumter county and then continued into extreme southern Macon county before finally lifting. The tornado tracked a total distance on the ground of approximately 40 miles. The tornado entered Sumter county about 4.75 miles southwest of Plains in southwest Sumter county and exited the northeast part of the county about 9 miles north of Methvins in northeast Sumter county. This was by far the most violent and devastating tornado of the March 1st outbreak. The tornado tracked roughly 32 miles across Sumter county with a maximum path width of 1.0 mile wide, which occurred in the Americus area. Damage within the city of Americus was extensive, although structures, trees, and power lines were down along the entire path of the tornado. The most significant damage in Americus was to the Sumter Regional Hospital, of which a significant portion was destroyed. Hundreds of homes and businesses in the Americus area were either totally destroyed or sustained significant damage. Hunderds of vehicles were also damaged or destroyed by debris and/or tossed about like matchsticks. The majority of the damage was within the vicinity of the Sumter Regional Hospital. Two deaths were reported at a home in Americus when a wall collapsed on a 43 year-old male and a 53-year old female. At least eight injuries were documented, but there may have been more.

Within the city of Americus, proper, there were 1235 total structures damaged or destroyed, including 217 businesses, 993 residences, 3 cemeteries, 10 churches, 1 fire station, 1 hospital, 8 recreational facilities/parks, and 2 schools. There were 75 structures (42 businesses, 31 residences, 1 hospital, 1 church) were destroyed. There were 148 structures (27 businesses, 116 residences, 3 recreational facilities/parks, 2 churches) with major damage. There were 331 structures (60 businesses, 260 residences, 3 recreational facilities/parks, 5 churches, 1 school, 2 cemeteries) with moderate damage and 681 structures (88 businesses, 586 residences, 2 recreational facilities/parks, 2 churches, 1 school, 1 cemetery, 1 fire station) with minor damage.

Wider weather episode

A major, negatively tilted and closed upper trough rotated through the mid-south and southeast U.S. on March 1st. A 150kt jet was located over the region at 250mb with a strong 50kt low-level jet from central Alabama into central Tennessee. A wedge of cool air was present over much of north central and northeast Georgia. Rain, which spread over this area early in the day, helped enhance the wedge of cool air. Little to no severe weather was noted north of the wedge boundary across north Georgia where the air mass remained relatively cool and stable. Meanwhile...a warm, humid air mass was present across much of central and south Georgia where dewpoints had risen well into the 60s during the afternoon. The strong upper dynamics present over this region combined with the instability just south of the wedge provided a very favorable environment for long lived, strong tornadoes. A total of 14 tornadoes affecting 17 counties tracked across central and east central Georgia and within the Peachtree City, Georgia county warning area during the late afternoon and evening hours of March 1st. This was the second greatest number of tornadoes recorded to have occurred in the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast area within a 24-hour period, second only to the 16 tornadoes, affecting 18 counties, associated with Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The March 1st tornadoes spanned an area from Stewart county in the far southwest part of the county warning area to Warren county in the far east central portion of the county warning area. The first tornado touched down in Stewart county at 4:11 pm EST and the last tornado lifted in Marion county at 10:55 pm EST. By far the hardest hit county was Sumter county, and especially the city of Americus, where hundreds of homes and business, including the regional hospital, were heavily damaged or destroyed. Additional tornadoes were reported further south in Tallahassee and Jacksonville's, Florida's forecast areas. Federal disaster assistance had been approved for 1,836 households across the state for a total of $14.2 million. Another $5.8 million had been approved for public assistance of debris removal and to repair infrastructure. The Small Business Association also approved $7 million in disaster assistance loans. Overall damages, however, are estimated to be several hundred million.

Substantial rainfall fell across much of the state, but rainfall amounts of three to five inches were common across central and east central areas. The heaviest rainfall fell in the Hancock, Putnam, and Baldwin county areas, where some spots received in excess of six inches of rain. Some flooding was reported in these areas.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.9820, -84.4567)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 21424. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.