EF1 tornado in Troup County, Georgia

A National Weather Service survey team determined that an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 90 MPH and a maximum path width of 200 yards occurred along I-85 south of LaGrange, GA. The damage path began just west of the interstate and crossed the highway near mile marker 13 where several trees were snapped and a metal building had part of its roof pulled up and an overhead garage door blown in. The tornado track continued northeast with several trees uprooted or snapped around a large retail distribution warehouse before ending in the vicinity of Upper Springs Road. [01/21/17: Tornado #1, County #1/1, EF1, Troup, 2017:002].

Throughout the weekend of the 21st and 22nd, persistent southwesterly upper-level flow brought a series of strong short waves across the region. The atmosphere over central Georgia was unseasonably warm and unstable with strong low and mid-level shear. The first short wave generated a wave of severe thunderstorms across central and south Georgia through the morning and into the afternoon of the 21st that produced numerous tornadoes. Twenty three tornadoes were confirmed in the WFO Peachtree City warning area with 27 total tornadoes confirmed in the state of Georgia, both records for the number of tornadoes in a single day. A second, stronger short wave swept through during the late morning and afternoon of the 22nd bringing another round of severe weather to central and south Georgia. Additional tornadoes confirmed brought the 2-day total to 27 for the WFO Peachtree City warning area and 41 for the state of Georgia, both a record number for a 2 day period.