EF3 tornado in Gordon County, Georgia

The tornado that first touched down in Bartow County continued into Gordon County. Numerous trees and power lines were downed from Redbud to Highway 53 and seven poultry homes were destroyed. In all, 268 homes were impacted: 30 were completely destroyed, 110 had major damage, and another 70 had minor damage. Of these, 202 were single family homes and 66 were mobile homes. Eight injuries were also reported which all occurred in one home. Some of the EF-3 damage in Gordon County occurred literally only blocks away from EF-3 damage that occurred on December 22, 2011.

[01/30/13: Tornado #1, County #2-2, EF3, Bartow-Gordon, 2013:001].

A very large storm system approached the state on the 30th. A highly amplified upper trough over the plains pushed east during the day, dragging a strong cold front through the Southeast. A squall line associated with the cold front pushed into northwest and west central Georgia during the mid-morning hours, and pushed through the rest of the state through the afternoon and evening. Widespread wind damage occurred with this line as it moved through. Additionally, a supercell thunderstorm ahead of the line spawned two tornadoes; a rare January EF-3 across Bartow and Gordon Counties and an EF-1 across Gilmer and Fannin Counties.