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EF1 tornado in Wilkinson County, Georgia

Tornado April 3, 2017 · Wilkinson County, Georgia

EF1
Rating
7.9 mi
Whole path
350 yd
Path width
$170K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Twiggs County → Wilkinson County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 350 yards (0.20 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 90 MPH and a maximum path width of 150 yards moved east from Twiggs County into Wilkinson County west of Tarpley Road. The Tornado weakened somewhat but still snapped or uprooted a few trees. After crossing Old Macon Road the tornado ended along Knightpond Road where it briefly intensified and uprooted a few large oak trees. No injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #20, County #2/2, EF-1, Twiggs, Wilkinson, 2017:052].

The wider storm

A strong short wave and associated surface low swept through the southern and eastern U.S. and combined with moderate instability and strong shear resulted in widespread severe weather, including numerous tornadoes, across north and central Georgia from late morning through the afternoon.

Began near Cooktown (32.6696, -83.2773).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 698163. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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