EF1 tornado in Washington County, Georgia

A National Weather Service survey team found that a EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards began along Grady Mertz Road near the intersection with Shurling Davis Road southeast of Tennille. The tornado travelled east along Shurling Davis Road before turning north and moving up Thompson Road, ending at Holmes Cannery Road. Numerous trees were downed and a trailer was rolled and destroyed. [01/21/17: Tornado #21, County #1/1, EF1, Washington, 2017:022].

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.