EF1 Tornado — Newton, Georgia

2020-10-10 · near Covington, Newton, Georgia

Event narrative

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 90 mph and a maximum path width of 75 yards travelled 1.43 miles across parts of Newton County on the west side of Covington. The tornado first touched down near the intersection of Washington Street and Walker Bend Parkway and moved northwest, ending just south of I-20 along Woodhaven Drive. The tornado produced some tree and structural damage with the most serious and extensive damage occurring along Turner Lake Circle at a homeless shelter where portions of the roof and walls of the building were damaged. Two people suffered minor injuries. [10/10/20: Tornado #1, County #1/1, EF-1, Newton, 2020:028].

Wider weather episode

During the afternoon and evening of October 10th, as the remnants of Hurricane Delta passed northwest of Georgia, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico spread across the area. Several weak tornadoes occurred in north and central Georgia in addition to pockets of heavy rainfall and flooding across the Atlanta metropolitan area and portions of northeast Georgia.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.5870, -83.8770)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 919438. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.