EF0 Tornado — Peach, Georgia

2017-01-21 · near Albaugh, Peach, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service survey team found that a tornado began in southeast Peach County around the intersection of Harper Road and Andel Road just west of the Perry-Houston County Airport. The tornado moved east for around 2.5 miles before crossing into Houston County along Buckeye Road. This tornado was rated EF0 along this portion of its path with maximum wind speeds of 80 MPH and mainly downed trees and power lines, however some minor damage to shingles on homes was noted in this area. The tornado would eventually travel over 13 miles across portions of Peach and Houston Counties. [01/21/17: Tornado #12, County #1/4, EF0, Peach-Houston-Peach-Houston, 2017:013].

Wider weather episode

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.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.5114, -83.7901)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 673689. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.