EF1 Tornado — Newton, Georgia

2021-12-31 · near Abide Awhile, Newton, Georgia

Event narrative

An isolated supercell thunderstorm developed during the late

afternoon hours December 31,2021 in southeast Newton County. A

tornado quickly developed from thatthunderstorm and first touched

down along Creekside Lane just east of Brown Bridge Rd where a

few trees were snapped. Both video evidence and ground surveys

suggest the tornado was sporadic in its contact with the ground as

evident by small gaps in damage, particularly in the beginning of

the track. The tornado continued east northeast just along Brown

Bridge Road, snapping a few trees and blowing down a fence along

Glynshire Ct and Roberts Rd. The tornado reached peak intensity

of 90mph as it hit Veterans Middle school removing significant

amounts of siding and roofing from the gymnasium and sections of

roof. The tornado crossed Slades Mill Ct uprooting trees and

causing minor damage to 2 homes before entering the intersection

of Brown Bridge Rd and Salem Rd. Several trees were uprooted in

a Publix parking lot and minor damage occurred to the roof

at Publix. The tornado then crossed through a Chick-Fil-A parking

lot where 2 cars were tossed 100 feet and flipped, and the glass

door to the restaurant was shattered. The tornado continued east

where minor roof damage occurred to 10 homes along Tulip Poplar

Way and Mary Jane Lane before the tornado lifted in or around

Shiver Blvd. Six minor injuries were reported near the Chick-fil-a.

[12/31/21: Tornado #2, County #1/1, EF-1, Newton, 2021:28].

Wider weather episode

Low-level shear with moderate instability resulted in a rare Low-Precipitation (LP) supercell event across portions of central Georgia during the evening of 31 December 2021. A low to mid-level cap was in place, only allowing for the development of very shallow cells, however enough low-level shear along an old boundary was in place for two separate tornadoes to touch down in Newton and Carroll counties. Radar returns showed less than 20dbz during the event given lack of growth of the supercell in combination with an overshooting radar beam.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.5676, -83.9877)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 996864. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.