Thunderstorm Wind — Cobb, Georgia

2008-02-26 · near Acworth, Cobb, Georgia

Event narrative

A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia and The Weather Channel concluded that a microburst with wind speeds up to 90 mph impacted the northeast part of Cobb county, causing extensive damage to trees, homes, and power lines. Several roads were also blocked. The majority of the damage was concentrated within a 0.3 to 1.0 mile wide path that extended from the Canterbury Woods Country Club north of Marietta eastward to the Fulton county line east of Sandy Plains. The damage continued into north Fulton county near Roswell. Extensive damage to trees and homes was observed in the neighborhoods around the Shallowford Road area. Several homes sustained moderate to major damage when large 80 foot pine trees fell on and through the structures. Thunderstorm winds caused damage to trees, power lines and other minor structural damage in many other parts of the county as well. A total of 87 structures suffered damage, mostly residential single-family homes. Two structures were destroyed, 20 suffered major damage, and 49 sustained minor damage. Many areas of the county were left without power for several hours. At least 75 locations observed downed trees. Trees were down in the cities of Acworth, Kennesaw, and Marietta. The ASOS at Dobbins Air Force Base in Marietta recorded a wind gust of 64 mph at 627 am EDT.

Wider weather episode

A deep upper trough was moving from the mid-south toward the southeast U.S. early on the 26th. A strong cold front accompanied the upper system. A squall line of thunderstorms developed after midnight on the 25th across Mississippi and Alabama and reached the Georgia/Alabama border around 5 am EST. The line of thunderstorms intensified and bowed out just as it was moving in Georgia during the early morning hours. Wind gusts in excess 60 mph affected many counties as these thunderstorms rolled through the area during the early morning hours, causing extensive wind damage to trees, power lines, and some structures from the west and northwest side of Atlanta toward the Alabama border. In addition, two tornadoes, one an EF3, developed along the stronger part of the line as it moved through Carroll county before daybreak causing extensive damage along their paths.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.0966, -84.7184)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 80732. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.