Hail — Fayette, Georgia

2008-03-15 · near Peachtree City, Fayette, Georgia

Event narrative

The public observed golf ball-sized hail at the intersection of Redwine Road and Peachtree Parkway on the east side of Peachtree City. Half-dollar-sized hail was observed at the National Weather Service Forecast Office on the south side of Peachtree City at Falcon Field. Penny to nickel-sized hail was observed south of Fayetteville in the Starrs Mill and Brooks areas.

Wider weather episode

The pattern that began to evolve on March 14th continued and intensified on March 15th. A stationary front remained draped across north Georgia from near Atlanta to Athens. South of this front, the air mass was becoming increasingly warm, moist and unstable. Meanwhile, aloft, a low amplitude, yet vigorous short wave embedded within a fast zonal flow, was tracking rapidly eastward from the mid south into the southeast. Strong shear and high helicity combined with the unstable air mass and the frontal boundary to allow repeated severe thunderstorms to develop and track eastward along the boundary across north Georgia. The activity began early in the day as a complex of thunderstorms moved into the area from Alabama and continued until nearly midnight. As the day progressed, especially during the afternoon, the development of the activity gradually progressed further south and by midnight had reached the south and southeast parts of the state. Numerous severe thunderstorms and tornadic supercells were observed throughout the day.

Historical records indicate that this was one of the most significant severe weather days for the Peachtree City Weather Forecast Office with more events and warnings than had been observed since May 2003.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.4200, -84.4500)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 88360. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.