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EF2 tornado in Quitman County, Georgia

Tornado April 5, 2017 · Quitman County, Georgia

EF2
Rating
10.4 mi
Whole path
1,140 yd
Path width
$600K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Barbour County, Alabama → Henry County, Alabama → Clay County → Quitman County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 1,140 yards (0.65 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The tornado touched down in extreme southeastern Barbour County in the White Oak community producing EF1 damage on White Oak Drive. The tornado then crossed Sandy Creek into Henry County's White Oak subdivision producing mostly EF1 damage across the entire width of the neighborhood between Sandy Creek and White Oak Creek. However, a double-wide manufactured home on Laurel Drive was shifted about 8 feet despite being strapped to the ground by 2 to 3 foot anchors which were completely pulled from the ground. This justified EF2 damage in this location with winds estimated at 115 mph. The tornado then crossed the Walter F. George Reservoir, also known as Lake Eufaula, into the state of Georgia with EF1 damage on the eastern shore of the lake along County Road 28. The tornado came ashore at the Quitman-Clay County line producing damage in both counties primarily in the form of uprooted trees. The trees damaged several homes. Debris from a lakeside porch was lofted and deposited on the opposite side of the home and strewn across an adjacent field. The tornado continued northeastward across rural Quitman County hitting the Self Family Farm on Self Road. The tornado did significant damage to the roof of a well constructed brick home, removing the majority of the roof. The walls of a brick outbuilding collapsed. There were also numerous trees snapped or uprooted adjacent to the home, two of which were debarked. This damage was consistent with EF2 winds of about 115 mph. Just northeast of the house, an irrigation pivot was toppled with the northern portion falling toward the southwest and the southern portion falling in the opposite direction. The tornado continued northeast across more rural areas causing EF1 damage to trees on County Road 82 before lifting shortly thereafter.

The wider storm

Severe weather during the first week of April resulted in a couple of tornadoes and several reports of hail and straight line wind damage across the tri-state area.

Began near Bonapartes Retreat (31.7798, -85.1186).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 680146. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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