EF1 Tornado — Wilkinson, Georgia

2019-03-03 · near Mc Rae Tlfr Whlr Arp, Wilkinson, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service survey found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 105 mph and a maximum path width of 630 yards occurred in Wilkinson County. The same supercell thunderstorm that produced tornadoes in Crawford, Peach and Twiggs Counties produced a third tornado that touched down south of Toomsboro just west of Highway 112 near the intersection with Camp Creek Road. The tornado quickly reached EF1 strength, downing and snapping trees as it crossed Highway 112. The tornado continued northeast, reaching its maximum width as it crossed Highway 57. Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted in this area. The tornado moved northeast through a very rural wooded area and reached the Dixie Kaolin Mine where the Emergency Manager reported numerous trees snapped or uprooted with some damage to the roofs of buildings at the mine site. The tornado dissipated in the wooded area northeast of the mine. No injuries were reported. [03/03/19: Tornado #7, County #1/1, EF1, Wilkinson, 2019:012].

Wider weather episode

A powerful storm system moved across the mid-south and southeast United States producing widespread severe weather and numerous tornadoes. In middle Georgia, significant damage from fourteen separate tornadoes was observed. Thousands of trees were snapped or uprooted and numerous homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed. Across central Georgia, incredibly, no deaths were reported, with only around a dozen minor injuries.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.8071, -83.0795)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810576. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.