EF2 Tornado — Effingham, Georgia

2008-03-15 · near Springfield, Effingham, Georgia

Event narrative

An EF2 Tornado was confirmed by a Storm Survey conducted by the Charleston, South Carolina National Weather Service Forecast Office. The Tornado touched down in Effingham county 1 mile northeast of Springfield, Georgia at 934 PM EDT and traveled southeast approximately 7 miles before lifting at 943 PM EDT about 6 miles east-southeast of Springfield, Georgia. This Tornado destroyed three mobile homes, damaged three to four dozen homes, knocked down 15 high voltage transmission towers, destroyed or damaged 20 vehicles, destroyed numerous outbuildings, sheds, and barns. Five people were injured when the mobile home they were in was blown over and rolled a time or two. Another person was injured when they drove a car into a tree that had fallen across the road. This tornado was a quarter mile wide at its widest point when it crossed Ebenezer Road and had maximum sustained winds estimated between 110 and 120 mph.

Wider weather episode

A large and intense area of low pressure lifted northward through the central Appalachians, dragging a strong cold front toward southern South Carolina and southeast Georgia. The combination of the approaching cold front along with strong dynamic forcing and plenty of instability resulted in a widespread organized severe weather outbreak across the region.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.3900, -81.3100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 90599. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.