EF1 tornado in Bartow County, Georgia

A National Weather Service survey found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 95 MPH and a maximum path width of 200 yards touched down as it crossed Highway 41 on the north side of Cartersville uprooting some pine trees and toppling a few onto power lines. The storm moved northeast crossing Oakridge Drive and uprooting trees onto homes. The tornado reached its maximum intensity as it crossed onto Greenacre Lane and Ridgedale Road where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted onto and around homes. Several homes also had shingles blown off or portions of their roof peeled back. The tornado continued to the northeast crossing Grassdale Road and moving along Old Grassdale Road where the windows and doors at a gas station were blown out and portions of a wall were blown down. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted onto or near homes in this area as well. The tornado struck a large metal warehouse peeling large portions of the metal roof and throwing the panels hundreds of yards to the northeast of the building. The tornado continued northeast crossing Peeples Valley Road snapping and uprooting trees on both sides of the road before moving into a largely wooded area and lifting before reaching I-75. [3/25/21: Tornado #3, County #1/1, EF-1, Bartow, 2021:008].

A very moist and moderately unstable airmass over the region combined with strong shear and persistent southwesterly mid and upper flow produced numerous showers and thunderstorms across north and parts of central Georgia through the day on the 25th into the morning of the 26th. Numerous reports of flooding were received with several reports of severe thunderstorms and a few isolated tornadoes. Rainfall amounts of 2.5 to 6 inches were common over north Georgia, with 6 to 8 inches observed over the higher elevations of northeast Georgia.