F2 Tornado — Henry, Georgia

2005-07-06 · near Hampton, Henry, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service damage survey confirmed an F2 tornado, the strongest tornado of the evening associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy, touched down just a few hundred yards south of McDonough Street at the Atlanta Motor Speedway then traveled north-northwest passing just east of Lovejoy in Clayton county, then across the Edgar Blalock Raw Water Reservation, at which point it turned northwest and finally passed into Clayton county before lifting near Jodeco Road. The tornado center line crossed the western bank of the race track then across Tara Field just west of the race track. Damages to the Atlanta Motor Speedway, including several condominiums at the facility, and the Tara Field Airport just west of the Atlanta Motor Speedway were estimated at $40,000,000. Eleven planes and five vintage helicopters were heavily damaged at Tara Field. Nearby a Chevron auto service station was destroyed. Damage between these facilities and the Clayton county line was confined mainly to trees and power lines. The tornado had a path length of nine miles tracking across western Henry and a small portion of eastern Clayton county. The tornado initially had a path width of 1/2 mile, then narrowed as it moved north-northwest. It was determined that the tornado had winds of 120 mph. Electrical power was out in much of the county throughout the night as a result of the damage in the area. All together during the evening, 229 homes in the county had minor damage from thunderstorm winds and/or tornadoes, with 61 homes suffering major damage. In addition, the steeple at Kelly Chapel fell to the ground.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4167, -84.4500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5467460. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.