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F0 tornado in Clayton County, Georgia

Tornado January 19, 2001 · Clayton County, Georgia

F0
Rating
0.1 mi
Path length
100 yd
Path width
8
Injuries
$2.5M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

NOAA recorded where this tornado touched down but not where it lifted, so it appears as a point. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F0 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F0 meant light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken; the scale paired it with winds of 40–72 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A damage survey, conducted by National Weather Service personnel from the Peachtree City, Georgia office, determined that an F0 tornado briefly touched down at the Forest Square Shopping Center on Georgia Highway 54, Jonesboro Road, near the southwest corner of Fort Gillem. This is about 3 miles southeast of Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. Six buildings sustained considerable damage, mainly to roofs, windows, and to exteriors. A pawnshop in the shopping center lost part of its roof and a Pizza Hut, immediately next door, lost all of its windows. Several other buildings in the area lost windows from flying debris. A nearby Pep Boys Auto Parts store lots a large portion of its roof and exterior awnings. The flying debris from the roof of the damaged buildings, particularly the Pep Boys store, caused damage to 15 to 20 cars parked nearby. Many of the cars had their rear windows shattered out and appeared as if they had been hit with a major hailstorm, although no hail was reported in the area. It is believed that rock pebbles from the roofs of the damaged buildings were largely responsible for this occurrence. The flying debris and glass caused injury to 8 people. The injuries were described as being mainly cuts and bruises, although one person suffered a broken arm. Power lines were also reported down in the same area.

Began near Forest Park (33.6167, -84.3667).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5230760. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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