F2 tornado — Effingham County, Georgia

F2 tornado in Effingham County, Georgia

Tornado April 9, 1998 · Effingham County, Georgia

Rating

16.0 mi

Whole path

400 yd

Path width

Deaths

Injuries

$2.7M

Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Bryan County → Effingham County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 400 yards (0.23 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

The Bryan County tornado crossed the county line and weakened as it moved into a less populated area. Once the tornado moved east of GA State Road 17, it lifted. There were no further reports of damage or touchdowns from the parent supercell until the F1 touchdown reported just west of Hardeeville, S.C., which is approximately 12 miles from the last report of damage in Effingham County, Georgia. There were 40 homes damaged along GA 17, about 5 miles south of Guyton. Six of these were mobile homes that were destroyed. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped off 10 to 15 feet above the ground.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5639379. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

F2 tornado in Effingham County, Georgia

What the National Weather Service wrote

Tornadoes near your address