Hail in Fannin County, Georgia

Numerous reports of large to very large damaging hail were received from the Fannin County 911 Center and the public across Fannin county. As the thunderstorm entered Fannin county from the southwest, it produced golf ball-sized hail near Blue Ridge. The hail grew in size to softballs (4.25 inch diameter) as the storm moved over the Morganton area. Extensive damage was reported to vehicles in the Morganton area and adjacent areas in the eastern part of the county.

A deep, closed upper low was moving from the Southern Plains into the mid-south with an accompanying strong Pacific cold front. This system had been slowing moving through the Southern Plains and Midwest in the prior days and had wreaked havoc on that region in the form of many devastating tornadoes, including the EF5 Joplin, Missouri tornado of May 22nd. As this system spread east, it was weakening in the face of a long standing upper ridge across the southeast U.S. and also moving into a considerably less favorable surface environment. Nonetheless, it remained a strong upper-level system with decent dynamics. It brought the most severe weather to the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast office since the historical tornado outbreak of April 27th and 28th. There were numerous reports of golf ball and larger-sized hail across north Georgia during the afternoon of April 26th which translated mostly into a thunderstorm wind event as the system spread thunderstorm further south across central Georgia during the late evening hours.

Showers and thunderstorms continued during the overnight hours of the 26th and into the early morning hours of the 27th. By afternoon, the front had pushed into the east central and southeast part of the county warning area. With afternoon heating and increased instability, thunderstorms increased in intensity and coverage ahead of the front. Some of these once again became severe. These were confined to the southeast counties of the county warning area. Quarter to half-dollar-sized hail was the primary severe weather component of these second round storms.