TornadoLookup

Home / Georgia / Henry

F2 tornado in Henry County, Georgia

Tornado July 6, 2005 · Henry County, Georgia

F2
Rating
9.0 mi
Path length
880 yd
Path width
$70.0M
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 880 yards (0.50 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F2 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F2 meant considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted; the scale paired it with winds of 113–157 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 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.

Began near Hampton (33.4167, -84.4500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

3 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5467460. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.