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EF1 tornado in Newton County, Georgia

Tornado April 5, 2017 · Newton County, Georgia

EF1
Rating
2.9 mi
Whole path
350 yd
Path width
$40K
Damage as recorded

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Newton County → Walton 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 88 MPH and a maximum path width of 350 yards touched down in far northern Newton County along the Walton County line. This is where the most damage occurred, mainly along Wapakoneta Trail. Multiple softwood trees were snapped and uprooted with one causing damage to a vehicle. The tornado quickly moved eastward into Walton County. No injuries were reported. [04/05/17: Tornado #2, County #1/2, EF-1, Newton, Walton, 2017:061].

The wider storm

Another strong short wave, the second in three days, rotated through a large and deep upper-level trough over the eastern U.S. A deep surface low and strong cold front moved through the state combining with moderate instability and strong low-level shear to produce another round of widespread severe weather across north and central Georgia, including several tornadoes.

Began near Dialtown (33.7202, -83.8795).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

EF2 Stewart CountyEF2 Laurens CountyEF1 Coweta CountyEF1 Dooly CountyEF1 Dodge CountyEF0 Sumter County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 698321. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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