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EF1 tornado in Washington County, Georgia

Tornado April 3, 2017 · Washington County, Georgia

EF1
Rating
7.5 mi
Whole path
300 yd
Path width
$75K
Damage as recorded

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

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 300 yards (0.17 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 100 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards occurred between Edgehill and Davisboro across the Washington and Jefferson county line. The tornado touched down around the intersection of South Sparta Davisboro Road and Jordan Mill Pond Road where damage occurred to the metal roof of a large barn and another barn was demolished along with numerous snapped and uprooted trees. As the tornado moved east it weakened to an EF0 after crossing Tree Nursery Road and moving into Jefferson County. No injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #27, County #1/2, EF-1, Washington, Jefferson, 2017:059].

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 Halls Crossing (33.0454, -82.6641).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Wilkinson CountyEF1 Carroll CountyEF1 Fulton CountyEF1 Muscogee CountyEF1 Lumpkin CountyEF1 Talbot CountyEF1 Upson CountyEF1 Schley CountyEF1 Monroe CountyEF1 Peach CountyEF1 Twiggs CountyEF1 Twiggs CountyEF1 Washington CountyEF0 Stewart CountyEF0 Stewart CountyEF0 Talbot CountyEF0 Webster CountyEF0 Spalding CountyEF0 Upson CountyEF0 Henry CountyEF0 Jones CountyEF0 Wilkinson CountyEF0 Wilkinson CountyEF0 Hancock CountyEF0 Wilkinson CountyEF0 Washington County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 698261. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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