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F1 tornado in Gordon County, Georgia

Tornado May 1, 2002 · Gordon County, Georgia

F1
Rating
1.5 mi
Path length
440 yd
Path width
$3K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 440 yards (0.25 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 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 National Weather Disaster Survey team observed that a weak F0 to F1 tornado made two touchdowns, one just southwest and another just east of downtown Calhoun. These tornado spinups occurred on the south side of a southeastward moving thunderstorm macroburst which traveled from northwest to southeast across the county. The macroburst was associated with 80 to 100 mph damaging straight line winds. The areas affected by the weak tornadoes received some of the most significant damage within the county. Dozens of trees were twisted, uprooted, and shredded by the tornadic winds which caused extensive damage to homes and businesses alike.

Began near Calhoun (34.4667, -84.9500).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5291801. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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