EF1 Tornado — Heard, Georgia

2018-02-07 · near O Neals Xrds, Heard, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 95 MPH and a maximum path width of 250 yards touched down along Butler Road in southwest Heard County just east of Whitewater Creek. The tornado moved east northeast, crossing Victory Road uprooting and snapping around a dozen trees. The tornado then continued east northeast crossing just north of the intersection of Highway 219 and Victory Road. On Boggus Road just north of Noles Road, dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted. The highest wind speeds for this tornado were estimated here at 95 mph. The tornado then moved eastward before ending just north of the intersection of Bevis Road and Brush Creek Road. [02/07/18: Tornado #2, County #1/1, EF-1, Heard, 2018:002].

Wider weather episode

A line of thunderstorms ahead of a strong cold front swept through north and central Georgia during the morning into the early afternoon. Despite only marginal instability, strong low and mid-level shear resulted in isolated reports of thunderstorm wind damage and a few brief tornadoes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.1916, -85.2025)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 737559. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.