EF2 Tornado — Calhoun, Georgia

2016-04-07 · near Moye, Calhoun, Georgia

Event narrative

The combination of dual-polarization radar data and the damage survey show that the tornado initially touched down very close to the Clay/Randolph County line west of US Highway 27. The tornado then continued on a continuous path for nearly 16 miles across much of northwestern Calhoun County. Initial damage northwest of Edison, GA in northwestern Calhoun County was largely limited to downed or snapped trees. As the tornado neared Georgia Highway 216, there was an area of more concentrated damage along Magnolia Road. Two single wide mobile homes were destroyed at this location along with numerous snapped pine trees. Damage in this area was consistent with EF-1 damage or a maximum wind of around 100-105 mph. For the following four miles of the track, damage was once again limited to mostly downed or snapped trees. More significant damage occurred east of the Ichawaynochaway Creek north of Georgia Highway 37 near Dickey, GA. On Country Club Road, a single family residence was damaged, with a portion of the exterior brick wall collapsed, large sections of the roof removed, and debris blown 100-200 yards from the structure. Large trees near the residence were uprooted or snapped. Across the road, a double wide mobile home had some sections of walls and roof removed, and it was blown off its foundation by a couple feet. Additional large, healthy trees were snapped and uprooted at that location. Damage in this area was consistent with high end EF-1 to low end EF-2 damage, with a maximum wind of 110-120 mph. Even more significant damage occurred further east along the Dickey Bypass. Numerous trees in this area were snapped and uprooted. Along the south side of the road, a double-wide mobile home was completely obliterated with debris blown across the road about 50 yards or more into a tree line. This mobile home was strapped and anchored to the ground in several locations, with the anchors sticking into the ground approximately a foot. The mobile home frame separated completely and wrapped around a nearby tree. Numerous hardwood trees near the home were snapped. Damage at this location was the most intense along the track of this tornado and was consistent with strong EF-2 damage, with a maximum wind of 125 to 130 mph. Analysis of the damage patterns suggests that this mobile home may have been hit by a subvortex in the tornado, as debris was blown across the path of the tornado to the north. Most of the debris along the rest of the path tended to be blown in a more easterly direction. Just to the east of that residence, another house was damaged, with a small portion of the roof removed. The residents stated that the roof had separated from the walls, but set down again in a slightly different location. Almost all the pine trees near this house were snapped. The tree damage continued to the east for about another mile, with a medium sized shed or outbuilding also destroyed near the end of the tornado path. Total damage cost was estimated.

Wider weather episode

Although most of the severe weather during the late night to early morning hours of April 6-7 stayed north of the tri-state area, an isolated storm did produce an EF2 tornado across Calhoun county with some injuries reported.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.6063, -84.8179)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 619395. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.