EF3 Tornado — Talbot, Georgia

2019-03-03 · near Baughville, Talbot, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service survey found an EF2 tornado moved out of Harris County into Talbot County increasing to EF3 intensity along Highway 315 where a small church and a mobile home were destroyed and dozens of trees were downed. Extensive damage occurred to a two-story home. The Humble Zion Church which was completely demolished with no walls left standing, was constructed of cinder blocks and mortar. The tornado continued east northeast along or just south of Highway 315, and weakened once again with EF1 wind damage found through forested areas in and around the highway as it crossed Callier Road, O'Neal Road, and Mitchell Road. Next, the tornado moved across the northern side of the city of Talbotton, causing extensive damage to trees and completely destroying numerous homes. Damage was observed along Adams Road on the Northwest side of town as wide swaths of trees were observed to be snapped. The tornado intensified again as it crossed Washington Avenue, the main north-south road through town, causing EF2 damage. A few manufactured homes were completely turned over, twisted, and destroyed. Contents of the homes were blown over a quarter mile into the woods behind them. One site-built, single family home was twisted at least 10 feet off of it's foundation and another

had its second story completely removed. Two apartment buildings were completely blown down with the foundation slabs laid bare. At least a dozen cars were destroyed by wind-blown debris. Several cars were blown several feet from where they were parked and one sedan was rolled up onto the top of a small pick-up truck. Several other manufactured homes lost portions of their roofing and some lost whole rooms to the winds. Seven injuries were reported in Talbotton. The tornado continued east northeast out of Talbotton, continuing to snap and uproot hundreds of trees along the path. Another manufactured home was found to have been displaced and torn apart, with another having its rear half collapsed from winds and falling trees. The storm continued moving to the east northeast between Highway 80 and Boot Kelly and Pobiddy Roads. On Poplar Cross Road, between Pobiddy Road and Highway 80, hundreds of softwood trees were snapped near their bases. The tornado dissipated just east of the intersection of George Smith Road and Carl Mathis Road. Seven injuries were reported along the Talbot County portion of the tornado path. [03/03/19: Tornado #2, County #3/3, EF3, Talbot, 2019:007].

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 → (32.6482, -84.6943)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810678. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.