EF2 tornado in Upson County, Georgia

A National Weather Service survey team found that the EF2 tornado with maximum winds of 115 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards which began in Talbot County just east of Highway 36 near the Flint River and moved north-northeast into Upson County near the Riverbend Restaurant along Riverbend Road snapping trees and power lines. The tornado continued north-northeast along Highway 36 crossing Roland Road continuing to down trees and power lines. As the path of the tornado reached the Sunnyside Road and Holman Road area several homes sustained severe roof damage. A second tornado crossed the path of this tornado in this vicinity just minutes later. The path continued north-northeast along Sunnyside Road causing damage to the roofs of several homes before crossing Crest Highway and Pickard Road and downing numerous additional trees before ending in the vicinity of Old Alabama Road. [1/21/17: Tornado #6, County #2/2, EF1, Talbot-Upson, 2017:007].

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.