EF1 tornado in Crisp County, Georgia

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 87 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards began along Pateville Road and moved north-northeast crossing Georgia-Florida Parkway and then the eastern side of the city of Cordele before crossing I-75 and lifting around Highway 257 and Midway Church Road. Roof damage occurred to several homes along this path as well as numerous downed trees. [01/21/17: Tornado #1, County #1/1, EF1, Crisp, 2017:025].

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.