EF1 tornado in Crisp County, Georgia

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 110 MPH and a maximum path width of 150 yards began just south of Highway 41 and Landfill Road. The tornado quickly intensified as it moved east-northeast and crossed I-75 where a tractor-trailer was blown over onto a car in the southbound lanes, resulting in two minor injuries. Numerous trees were snapped as it continued east-northeast. The tornado reached its maximum intensity in the 200 block of Allied Road where a house had most of its roof blown off and a mobile home across the street was blown off of its block foundation. The mobile home residents had sought shelter in the home across the street several minutes before the tornado hit and were not injured in spite of the extensive damage. Around the intersection of Arabi Williford Road and Highway 90 another mobile home was blown off of its block foundation, but remained upright. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted with one falling on a home causing minor damage before the tornado ended just east of Brock Road where one home had minor roof damage. [05/23/17: Tornado #2, County #1/1, EF-1, Crisp, 2017:073].

A surface cold front and mid-level short wave associated with a large, deep upper-level trough over the central U.S. swept through the region. Moderate instability combined with strong deep-layer shear to produce scattered severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes across north and central Georgia. Deep, rich moisture resulted in very heavy rainfall as well, producing isolated reports of flash flooding.