EF1 Tornado — Bartow, Georgia

2020-04-13 · near Ladds, Bartow, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service survey found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 100 mph and a maximum path width of 250 yards touched down in Bartow County on the southwest side of Cartersville along West Avenue where a fence was blown down and roofing material was peeled off of a small business. The tornado moved northeast along West Avenue with sporadic damage to trees. A very large oak tree was blown down onto a home around Herring Street and Fite Street killing a 34 year old man asleep in a bedroom hit by the tree. The tornado continued moving to the northeast blowing down trees along Bartow Street and West Cherokee Avenue in addition to other areas across downtown Cartersville. The tornado crossed I-75 and Highway 294/20 spur blowing down a few trees. The tornado intensified as it crossed Highway 20 east of I75. Numerous trees were blown down near the end of Black Road Northeast with minor roof damage to a home. Along Bells Ferry Road numerous large trees were snapped and blown down as the tornado reached maximum intensity in this

area. The storm crossed Stamp Creek Road blowing down trees and power lines before entering the Pine Log Wildlife Management Area blowing down 60-70 more trees before lifting. [04/12/20: Tornado #7, County #1/1, EF-1, Bartow, 2020:013].

Wider weather episode

A powerful Spring storm system resulted in a Severe Weather / Tornado outbreak across much of the Southeast region, including north and central Georgia, beginning on Easter Sunday (April 12th) and lingering into the morning hours of April 13th. From the Storm Prediction Center (Day 1) convective outlook, just about the entire area was under an ENHANCED risk for severe weather with a MODERATE risk extending from the ArkLaMiss into western Georgia.

In addition, enhanced rainfall occurred over far north Georgia and in portions of central Georgia, with rainfall amounts ranging from 3 to 8 inches through the event. Significant flooding was in portions of the area with numerous reports of washouts and several reports of rescues.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.1492, -84.8285)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 889288. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.