Hancock County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Georgia Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Hancock County is about the same as Georgia average and is much lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Hancock County is much lower than Georgia average and is much lower than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #120
| Hancock County | 0.00 |
| Georgia | 0.08 |
| U.S. | 1.81 |
The earthquake index value is calculated based on historical earthquake events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the earthquake level in a region. A higher earthquake index value means a higher chance of an earthquake.
Volcano Index, #1
| Hancock County | 0.0000 |
| Georgia | 0.0000 |
| U.S. | 0.0023 |
The volcano index value is calculated based on the currently known volcanoes using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the possibility of a region being affected by a possible volcano eruption. A higher volcano index value means a higher chance of being affected.
Tornado Index, #120
| Hancock County | 0.00 |
| Georgia | 179.92 |
| U.S. | 136.45 |
The tornado index value is calculated based on historical tornado events data using USA.com algorithms. It is an indicator of the tornado level in a region. A higher tornado index value means a higher chance of tornado events.
Other Weather Extremes Events
A total of 12,876 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Hancock County were recorded from 1950 to 2010. The following is a break down of these events:
| Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count | Type | Count |
| Avalanche: | 0 | Blizzard: | 0 | Cold: | 29 | Dense Fog: | 6 | Drought: | 120 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 528 | Hail: | 3,959 | Heat: | 28 | Heavy Snow: | 68 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 6 | Ice Storm: | 31 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 96 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 6,992 | Tropical Storm: | 24 | Wildfire: | 2 | Winter Storm: | 34 | Winter Weather: | 58 |
| Other: | 895 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Hancock County.
Historical Earthquake Events
A total of 2 historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Hancock County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Depth (km) | Latitude | Longitude |
| 23.6 | 1964-03-13 | 4.4 | 40 | 33.2 | -83.4 |
| 43.2 | 1983-01-26 | 3.5 | 5 | 32.73 | -83.38 |
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 38 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Hancock County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 7.4 | 2009-04-10 | 3 | 33°17'N / 82°56'W | 33°18'N / 82°49'W | 7.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 1 | 500K | 250K | Hancock |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet a third tornado touched down in Hancock county within a 15 minute period of time. However, this tornado was determined to be an EF3 tornado. This tornado touched down about halfway between Sparta and Culverton in east central Hancock county. The tornado was determined to have a maximum path width of 1/2 mile with maximum winds of 160 mph. Much of the damage occurred along Dunn and Hickory Grove Roads. Along the path of the tornado, one 4000 square foot site-built home was completely destroyed. The debris from the home was scattered across an area up to 400 feet downstream. A resident of this home suffered serious injuries. Another nearby double-wide mobile home was also completely destroyed. Two other nearby homes on Dunn suffered minor damage and two additional homes on Youngblood Road toward Jewell suffered extensive roof damage. A swath of 116 mature pecan trees at a pecan orchard on Hickory Grove road were flattened. These were owned by a resident adjacent to one of the damaged homes on Hickory Grove Road. One of the homeowners also lost a Shetland pony during the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A vigorous upper closed low was moving from the mid-south and Mississippi valley region into the mid-Atlantic and southeast U.S. A strong cold front accompanied the upper system. A strong low-level jet in advance of these weather systems transported warm, moist Gulf air northward into the region. With strong dynamics, hence shear, combined with an unusually moist, unstable atmosphere, the atmosphere was primed for a major weather outbreak. One round of thunderstorms passed through north Georgia during the early morning hours. A few minor severe weather events accompanied this system in northwest Georgia. Partial clearing followed the morning convection, allowing temperatures to soar into the mid 70s across much of north and central Georgia in advance of the main weather system. Scattered to numerous discrete supercell thunderstorms developed during mid-afternoon in northwest Georgia and progressed east and southeast across the remaining portions of the county warning area during the evening hours. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes lingered into the early morning hours of the 11th across the southern counties of central Georgia. During the eight hour period from 5 pm EDT on April 10th to 1 am EDT on April 11th, a total of 14 tornadoes were confirmed to have touched down in north and central Georgia causing millions in damages. While some injuries were observed, no deaths were observed. | |||||||||||
| 10.7 | 2009-02-18 | 3 | 33°15'N / 82°53'W | 33°15'N / 82°45'W | 8.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 1 | 3 | 500K | 0K | Hancock |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF3 tornado touched down approximately five miles east-southeast of Sparta, or about three miles east of the intersection of Georgia Highway 15 and 16. The tornado then moved along a nearly eight-mile long path across far southeast Hancock county and continued into extreme southern Warren county and then into extreme northwest Glascock county. The total tornado path length was nearly 11 miles long. The maximum path width was estimated to be 500 yards with maximum winds of 140 mph. A church, two site-built homes, and four mobile homes were completely destroyed in the Hickory Grove Community. One fatality and three injuries occurred where the mobile homes were destroyed. Hundreds of trees were either uprooted or snapped along the path of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A strong cold front accompanied and deep negatively tilted upper trough through the eastern U.S. from the 18th into the 19th. An unseasonably warm and unstable air mass developed in advance of the cold front during the late afternoon and early evening across north and central Georgia as warm, moist air rode northward into Georgia on a strong low-level jet. Afternoon temperatures in the 70s and dewpoints in the 60s, combined with strong shear and moderate instability, resulted in the development of numerous supercell thunderstorms from mid-afternoon until a few hours after midnight on the 19th. Ten tornadoes, ranging in scale from EF0 to EF3 tracked across several north and central Georgia counties. The worst tornadoes affected the east central Georgia counties of Jasper, Putnam, Hancock, and Jasper. A death was observed in Hancock county with an EF3 tornado and several injuries were reported from Putnam and Hancock counties. In addition to the tornadoes, very large hail occurred with several of the thunderstorms, including four-inch diameter hail in Coweta and Fayette counties just south of Atlanta. Numerous reports of golf ball and larger-sized hail were received. The event resulted in millions of dollars of damage and the destruction of several homes in north and central Georgia counties. | |||||||||||
| 13.7 | 1992-11-22 | 4 | 33°25'N / 83°12'W | 33°28'N / 83°02'W | 12.00 Miles | 867 Yards | 1 | 31 | 2.5M | 0 | Greene |
| 14.8 | 1965-03-23 | 2 | 33°28'N / 83°02'W | 33°30'N / 82°57'W | 5.20 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Greene |
| 18.9 | 1992-11-22 | 4 | 33°11'N / 83°27'W | 33°25'N / 83°12'W | 20.00 Miles | 867 Yards | 4 | 55 | 25.0M | 0 | Putnam |
| 18.9 | 1964-12-25 | 3 | 33°02'N / 83°23'W | 33°08'N / 83°06'W | 17.80 Miles | 600 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Baldwin |
| 26.8 | 2007-03-01 | 2 | 33°25'N / 82°36'W | 33°26'N / 82°33'W | 3.00 Miles | 448 Yards | 0 | 3 | 700K | 0K | Warren |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, GA concluded that an EF2 tornado tracked across eastern Warren county, touching down about four miles east-northeast of Warrenton, and continued into McDuffie county, terminating about 6 miles northeast of Thomson near Interstate-20. The overall tornado path length was 15 miles, but only about 2.5 miles of the path occurred within Warren county. The maximum path width was 448 yards or about one-quarter nautical mile. The tornado tracked very close to U.S. Highway 278 or Georgia Highway 12, the main highway between Warrenton and Thomson. The most significant damage occurred to the Briarwood Academy on U.S. Highway 278. In addition, a number of homes, mostly double-wide mobile homes, sustained significant damage between Warrenton and the McDuffie county line, especially on the northeast side of Warrenton. Most of the damage was in the Camak Road and Thomson Highway area. One double-wide mobile home was completely destroyed with only the base slab left standing. There were eight homes with major damage, 13 with moderate damage, and 17 with minor damage. Three individuals sustained minor injuries from flying glass and debris. Dozens of trees and power lines were down along the path of the tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A major, negatively tilted and closed upper trough rotated through the mid-south and southeast U.S. on March 1st. A 150kt jet was located over the region at 250mb with a strong 50kt low-level jet from central Alabama into central Tennessee. A wedge of cool air was present over much of north central and northeast Georgia. Rain, which spread over this area early in the day, helped enhance the wedge of cool air. Little to no severe weather was noted north of the wedge boundary across north Georgia where the air mass remained relatively cool and stable. Meanwhile...a warm, humid air mass was present across much of central and south Georgia where dewpoints had risen well into the 60s during the afternoon. The strong upper dynamics present over this region combined with the instability just south of the wedge provided a very favorable environment for long lived, strong tornadoes. A total of 14 tornadoes affecting 17 counties tracked across central and east central Georgia and within the Peachtree City, Georgia county warning area during the late afternoon and evening hours of March 1st. This was the second greatest number of tornadoes recorded to have occurred in the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast area within a 24-hour period, second only to the 16 tornadoes, affecting 18 counties, associated with Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The March 1st tornadoes spanned an area from Stewart county in the far southwest part of the county warning area to Warren county in the far east central portion of the county warning area. The first tornado touched down in Stewart county at 4:11 pm EST and the last tornado lifted in Marion county at 10:55 pm EST. By far the hardest hit county was Sumter county, and especially the city of Americus, where hundreds of homes and business, including the regional hospital, were heavily damaged or destroyed. Additional tornadoes were reported further south in Tallahassee and Jacksonville's, Florida's forecast areas. Federal disaster assistance had been approved for 1,836 households across the state for a total of $14.2 million. Another $5.8 million had been approved for public assistance of debris removal and to repair infrastructure. The Small Business Association also approved $7 million in disaster assistance loans. Overall damages, however, are estimated to be several hundred million. Substantial rainfall fell across much of the state, but rainfall amounts of three to five inches were common across central and east central areas. The heaviest rainfall fell in the Hancock, Putnam, and Baldwin county areas, where some spots received in excess of six inches of rain. Some flooding was reported in these areas. | |||||||||||
| 31.0 | 2009-02-18 | 3 | 33°40'N / 82°52'W | 33°38'N / 82°34'W | 17.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 300K | 0K | Wilkes |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast office in Columbia, South Carolina, confirmed that an EF3 tornado had tracked across far southern Wilkes county causing considerable damage along its path. The tornado continued its east-southeastward track into extreme northeastern McDuffie county. The total tornado path length was 18.6 miles. The tornado initially touched down in the Tyrone community in southwest Washington county. Here a cinder block home was completely destroyed with the cinder block debris blown downstream nearly 1/2 mile. Fifteen other homes along the path of the tornado sustained moderate to major damage from the tornado. Nineteen outbuildings and a commercial chicken house was destroyed. In addition, a steeple was blown off a church and a 2-ton truck was moved 60 feet. The maximum path width was approximately 1/2 mile with maximum winds estimated to be 160 mph. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A strong cold front accompanied and deep negatively tilted upper trough through the eastern U.S. from the 18th into the 19th. An unseasonably warm and unstable air mass developed in advance of the cold front during the late afternoon and early evening across north and central Georgia as warm, moist air rode northward into Georgia on a strong low-level jet. Afternoon temperatures in the 70s and dewpoints in the 60s, combined with strong shear and moderate instability, resulted in the development of numerous supercell thunderstorms from mid-afternoon until a few hours after midnight on the 19th. Ten tornadoes, ranging in scale from EF0 to EF3 tracked across several north and central Georgia counties. The worst tornadoes affected the east central Georgia counties of Jasper, Putnam, Hancock, and Jasper. A death was observed in Hancock county with an EF3 tornado and several injuries were reported from Putnam and Hancock counties. In addition to the tornadoes, very large hail occurred with several of the thunderstorms, including four-inch diameter hail in Coweta and Fayette counties just south of Atlanta. Numerous reports of golf ball and larger-sized hail were received. The event resulted in millions of dollars of damage and the destruction of several homes in north and central Georgia counties. | |||||||||||
| 31.7 | 2007-03-01 | 2 | 33°25'N / 82°33'W | 33°30'N / 82°27'W | 9.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0K | Mcduffie |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: An EF2 started in Warren county and moved through McDuffie county taking down numerous trees and powerlines. The twister moved along hwy 278 to Thomson then along hwy 150 to I-20. Several vehicles were totaled and many homes and a private school had moderate damage. Ground survey found a damage path of 9 miles in McDuffie county but an areal survey found the total length to be 15 miles. There were no injuries or deaths. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Supercells moved across the southern states and into GA producing tornadoes across the region. | |||||||||||
| 34.5 | 1957-04-05 | 2 | 33°28'N / 82°30'W | 33°28'N / 82°24'W | 5.90 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Warren |
| 35.2 | 1989-10-01 | 2 | 32°50'N / 82°37'W | 32°53'N / 82°40'W | 4.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Washington |
| 36.6 | 1975-03-14 | 2 | 32°46'N / 82°48'W | 6.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Washington | |
| 36.8 | 1967-03-06 | 2 | 33°27'N / 83°36'W | 0.80 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Jasper | |
| 36.8 | 1964-12-26 | 3 | 32°54'N / 83°40'W | 33°02'N / 83°23'W | 18.90 Miles | 600 Yards | 2 | 16 | 2.5M | 0 | Jones |
| 38.5 | 1957-04-05 | 2 | 33°28'N / 82°24'W | 33°30'N / 82°22'W | 3.00 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Columbia |
| 38.9 | 2007-03-01 | 2 | 32°39'N / 83°09'W | 32°46'N / 82°58'W | 13.00 Miles | 895 Yards | 0 | 0 | 30K | 0K | Wilkinson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia concluded that an EF2 tornado had touched down in southwest Wilkinson county about 4.5 miles west-southwest of Nicklesville and tracked over 13 miles to a point nine miles northeast of Nicklesville. The maximum path width was 1/2 mile. The tornado traveled through a mostly rural area. Damage was confined mainly to trees and power lines. Most of the damage was focused along Georgia Highway 112. One home sustained minor to moderate damage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A major, negatively tilted and closed upper trough rotated through the mid-south and southeast U.S. on March 1st. A 150kt jet was located over the region at 250mb with a strong 50kt low-level jet from central Alabama into central Tennessee. A wedge of cool air was present over much of north central and northeast Georgia. Rain, which spread over this area early in the day, helped enhance the wedge of cool air. Little to no severe weather was noted north of the wedge boundary across north Georgia where the air mass remained relatively cool and stable. Meanwhile...a warm, humid air mass was present across much of central and south Georgia where dewpoints had risen well into the 60s during the afternoon. The strong upper dynamics present over this region combined with the instability just south of the wedge provided a very favorable environment for long lived, strong tornadoes. A total of 14 tornadoes affecting 17 counties tracked across central and east central Georgia and within the Peachtree City, Georgia county warning area during the late afternoon and evening hours of March 1st. This was the second greatest number of tornadoes recorded to have occurred in the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast area within a 24-hour period, second only to the 16 tornadoes, affecting 18 counties, associated with Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The March 1st tornadoes spanned an area from Stewart county in the far southwest part of the county warning area to Warren county in the far east central portion of the county warning area. The first tornado touched down in Stewart county at 4:11 pm EST and the last tornado lifted in Marion county at 10:55 pm EST. By far the hardest hit county was Sumter county, and especially the city of Americus, where hundreds of homes and business, including the regional hospital, were heavily damaged or destroyed. Additional tornadoes were reported further south in Tallahassee and Jacksonville's, Florida's forecast areas. Federal disaster assistance had been approved for 1,836 households across the state for a total of $14.2 million. Another $5.8 million had been approved for public assistance of debris removal and to repair infrastructure. The Small Business Association also approved $7 million in disaster assistance loans. Overall damages, however, are estimated to be several hundred million. Substantial rainfall fell across much of the state, but rainfall amounts of three to five inches were common across central and east central areas. The heaviest rainfall fell in the Hancock, Putnam, and Baldwin county areas, where some spots received in excess of six inches of rain. Some flooding was reported in these areas. | |||||||||||
| 40.1 | 1959-04-19 | 2 | 32°48'N / 83°30'W | 32°52'N / 83°25'W | 6.60 Miles | 120 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Twiggs |
| 40.3 | 2008-03-15 | 2 | 33°12'N / 82°23'W | 33°12'N / 82°14'W | 8.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0K | Jefferson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down in northern Jefferson county. The tornado touched down approximately one mile northwest of Wrens and traveled east a little less than nine miles across northeastern Jefferson county and the town of Matthews, before crossing into Burke county just south of the town of Keysville. The tornado continued on the ground an additional eight to nine miles into Burke county before finally lifting near the Applewood County Club in Burke county. The total tornado path length was 19 miles. The maximum path width was one-quarter mile and maximum sustained winds were estimated at 120 mph. The most significant damage occurred in Matthews, where several mobile homes were destroyed. Two businesses in Wrens were destroyed and several others sustained damage. A church and an elementary school, and several homes in Wrens also suffered at least minor damage from wind and numerous downed trees. ficant roof damage. No serious injuries or fatalities were reported from this tornado. EPISODE NARRATIVE: The pattern that began to evolve on March 14th continued and intensified on March 15th. A stationary front remained draped across north Georgia from near Atlanta to Athens. South of this front, the air mass was becoming increasingly warm, moist and unstable. Meanwhile, aloft, a low amplitude, yet vigorous short wave embedded within a fast zonal flow, was tracking rapidly eastward from the mid south into the southeast. Strong shear and high helicity combined with the unstable air mass and the frontal boundary to allow repeated severe thunderstorms to develop and track eastward along the boundary across north Georgia. The activity began early in the day as a complex of thunderstorms moved into the area from Alabama and continued until nearly midnight. As the day progressed, especially during the afternoon, the development of the activity gradually progressed further south and by midnight had reached the south and southeast parts of the state. Numerous severe thunderstorms and tornadic supercells were observed throughout the day. Historical records indicate that this was one of the most significant severe weather days for the Peachtree City Weather Forecast Office with more events and warnings than had been observed since May 2003. | |||||||||||
| 40.9 | 1992-11-22 | 2 | 33°04'N / 83°44'W | 33°07'N / 83°37'W | 8.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 2.5M | 0 | Jones |
| 41.0 | 1965-07-11 | 2 | 33°30'N / 83°35'W | 33°33'N / 83°42'W | 7.40 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Newton |
| 44.0 | 1957-04-05 | 2 | 33°28'N / 82°24'W | 33°28'N / 82°09'W | 14.40 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Columbia |
| 44.2 | 1953-04-30 | 3 | 32°42'N / 83°21'W | 2.00 Miles | 10 Yards | 1 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Twiggs | |
| 44.3 | 1953-04-30 | 2 | 32°47'N / 83°30'W | 0.50 Mile | 10 Yards | 1 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Twiggs | |
| 46.1 | 1998-05-07 | 2 | 33°46'N / 82°28'W | 33°46'N / 82°28'W | 1.00 Mile | 200 Yards | 0 | 8 | 300K | 0 | Lincoln |
| Brief Description: An F2 tornado hit the Pine Woods subdivision destryoing 12 homes and causing major damage to 15 homes and minor damage to 8 homes. | |||||||||||
| 46.3 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 32°36'N / 83°04'W | 32°36'N / 82°50'W | 14.00 Miles | 250 Yards | 2 | 2 | 1.4M | 0K | Laurens |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down in far northern Laurens county, just south of the Wilkinson county line. The tornado initially touched down as an EF0 tornado near the intersection of Old Macon Road and Oscar Wynn Road. The tornado quickly intensified to an EF2 tornado as it tracked almost due eastward and crossed U.S. Highway 441 at the 2700 block, about seven miles northwest of Dublin, or near the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and Evergreen Road. Here, a double-wide mobile home was destroyed and the occupants, a man and woman in their early 50s were both killed. Their two grandchildren sustained non-life threatening injuries. Another home along Evergreen Road was also destroyed as the EF2 tornado continued on its eastward track. The tornado continued eastward and weakened back to an EF0 as it crossed the Oconee River. The tornado then once again strengthened to an EF2 as it crossed Buckeye Road in the 2100 block, approximaltely four miles north-northeast of East Dublin. EF2 tornado damage was noted to a home at 2185 Buckeye Road and EF1 tornado damage to another home at 1533 Buckeye Road. In between the destruction to the homes on Evergreen Road and those on Buckeye Road, sporadic tree and power line damage was observed, mostly consistent with an EF0 intensity rating. The tornado path length was about 15 miles. A maximum path width of 250 yards was observed at the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 441 at Evergreen Road. All together this tornado resulted in the destruction of two mobile homes, major damage to six other site built homes, some shifted off their foundations, one home with a missing roof, and many other homes with minor roof or siding damage. Numerous sheds and outbuildings were also destroyed. Several dozen trees were either uprooted or snapped off along the path of the tornado, along with several power lines. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A stationary front was draped across north Georgia early on May 10th with an active northwest flow aloft. Meanwhile...a vigorous short wave aloft was approaching the area from the southern plains. The stationary front provided the focus for two rounds of showers and thunderstorms, one early in the morning on the 10th and another in the afternoon. The activity tracked east-southeast with the upper flow aloft, mainly across north Georgia during the early morning and across central Georgia during the afternoon. An isolated strong supercell also tracked across the southern part of central Georgia during the evening. After a lull of convective activity for about four hours, intense multicell thunderstorms tracked into the area from Alabama after midnight and before dawn on the 11th. As these thunderstorms tracked across west central and central Georgia, 15 tornadoes were identified by subsequent surveys making this the most significant tornado outbreak to affect the area since the Katrina-associated tornadoes on August 29, 2005. Millions of dollars of property damage were reported as many homes were destroyed from these tornadoes from the western and southern suburbs of Atlanta southeastward across Macon, Dublin, and other counties in east central and southeast Georgia. Many of these counties were eligible for disaster assistance from the federal government. In addition to the tornadoes and thunderstorm winds that caused extensive damage in dozens of counties across north and central Georgia during the early morning hours of May 11th, strong gradient winds developed on the back side of the strong cold front that moved through the area as low pressure intensified across the mid-Atlantic region. The strong winds combined with wet ground resulted in dozens of trees being blown down in some north Georgia counties. There were also two deaths as a result of downed trees in Barrow and Gwinnett county, all non-thunderstorm-related winds. | |||||||||||
| 46.8 | 1992-11-22 | 2 | 33°02'N / 83°48'W | 33°04'N / 83°44'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Monroe |
| 46.8 | 1966-02-13 | 2 | 33°53'N / 83°10'W | 33°59'N / 83°10'W | 6.90 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Oglethorpe |
| 47.2 | 1963-01-20 | 2 | 32°38'N / 83°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 30 Yards | 0 | 2 | 25K | 0 | Twiggs | |
| 47.4 | 1990-01-29 | 2 | 33°20'N / 82°11'W | 0.90 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 6 | 250K | 0 | Richmond | |
| 47.4 | 1972-01-13 | 3 | 32°52'N / 82°23'W | 32°55'N / 82°15'W | 8.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 2 | 2.5M | 0 | Jefferson |
| 47.5 | 1970-07-22 | 2 | 32°48'N / 82°24'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 1 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Emanuel | |
| 48.0 | 2009-04-10 | 2 | 33°28'N / 82°15'W | 33°27'N / 82°09'W | 6.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 1.0M | 0K | Columbia |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A supercell tornado tracked across Columbia county from northeast of Harlem through Grovetown damaging many homes and taking down numerous trees and powerlines. Several vehicles were crushed and there were about a dozen minor injuries. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Supercell thunderstorms moved across the CSRA and produced large tornadoes. One tornado tracked across Columbia and Richmond counties then went into Aiken county South Carolina along highway 278. The second tornado tracked across Burke county then into lower Barnwell and Allendale counties in South Carolina. Several homes were destroyed and many had moderate to severe damage. Widespread trees and powerlines were also down. Total damage estimate was 3 million dollars. | |||||||||||
| 48.4 | 1961-02-24 | 2 | 32°36'N / 83°15'W | 1.00 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Twiggs | |
| 48.6 | 1992-11-22 | 3 | 33°41'N / 82°29'W | 33°49'N / 82°17'W | 5.00 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Lincoln |
| 48.9 | 1958-01-31 | 2 | 32°49'N / 83°39'W | 0.30 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Bibb | |
| 49.0 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 32°42'N / 82°31'W | 32°43'N / 82°27'W | 5.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 3 | 7.0M | 0K | Johnson |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet another tornado had touched down within Johnson county. This tornado was an EF2 and touched down in far eastern Johnson county, about one mile northwest of Kite and continued on an east-northeastward track into Emanuel county, crossing into Emanuel county just west of the city of Blundale. Maximum winds within the tornado were estimated to be 130 mph and the maximum path width was determined to be up to 1/2 mile wide. As the tornado touched down northwest of Kite, a mobile home was rolled and several other homes and vehicles were damaged along U.S. Highway 221 north of Kite. The most significant damage occurred about three miles north of Kite, along Minton Chapel Road, where a mobile home was completely destroyed and the debris thrown up to 50 feet away. Three injuries were reported as a result of the destruction of this mobile home. An additional indirect injury occurred later when a tree fell on an individual during debris clean up. A well constructed metal building in the same general area sustained substantial wall, frame, and column anchor failures. A number of trees and several power lines were downed along the path of the tornado as well. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A stationary front was draped across north Georgia early on May 10th with an active northwest flow aloft. Meanwhile...a vigorous short wave aloft was approaching the area from the southern plains. The stationary front provided the focus for two rounds of showers and thunderstorms, one early in the morning on the 10th and another in the afternoon. The activity tracked east-southeast with the upper flow aloft, mainly across north Georgia during the early morning and across central Georgia during the afternoon. An isolated strong supercell also tracked across the southern part of central Georgia during the evening. After a lull of convective activity for about four hours, intense multicell thunderstorms tracked into the area from Alabama after midnight and before dawn on the 11th. As these thunderstorms tracked across west central and central Georgia, 15 tornadoes were identified by subsequent surveys making this the most significant tornado outbreak to affect the area since the Katrina-associated tornadoes on August 29, 2005. Millions of dollars of property damage were reported as many homes were destroyed from these tornadoes from the western and southern suburbs of Atlanta southeastward across Macon, Dublin, and other counties in east central and southeast Georgia. Many of these counties were eligible for disaster assistance from the federal government. In addition to the tornadoes and thunderstorm winds that caused extensive damage in dozens of counties across north and central Georgia during the early morning hours of May 11th, strong gradient winds developed on the back side of the strong cold front that moved through the area as low pressure intensified across the mid-Atlantic region. The strong winds combined with wet ground resulted in dozens of trees being blown down in some north Georgia counties. There were also two deaths as a result of downed trees in Barrow and Gwinnett county, all non-thunderstorm-related winds. | |||||||||||
| 49.1 | 1972-01-13 | 2 | 32°30'N / 83°02'W | 32°37'N / 82°54'W | 11.30 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Laurens |
| 49.8 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 32°43'N / 82°27'W | 32°45'N / 82°24'W | 3.00 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 750K | 0K | Emanuel |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the second tornado, an EF2, that touched down in far eastern Johnson county, just northwest of Kite, continued on an east-northeastward track into far northwestern Emanuel county, lifting approximately one mile west of Blundale, just north of Cordie Road. Maximum winds within the tornado were estimated to be 130 mph with a maximum path width up to 1/2 mile as the tornado first entered Emanuel county. Approximately 28 homes in Emanuel county sustained damage from the tornado, two of which were destroyed, 13 of which suffered major damage, and 10 had minor damage. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A stationary front was draped across north Georgia early on May 10th with an active northwest flow aloft. Meanwhile...a vigorous short wave aloft was approaching the area from the southern plains. The stationary front provided the focus for two rounds of showers and thunderstorms, one early in the morning on the 10th and another in the afternoon. The activity tracked east-southeast with the upper flow aloft, mainly across north Georgia during the early morning and across central Georgia during the afternoon. An isolated strong supercell also tracked across the southern part of central Georgia during the evening. After a lull of convective activity for about four hours, intense multicell thunderstorms tracked into the area from Alabama after midnight and before dawn on the 11th. As these thunderstorms tracked across west central and central Georgia, 15 tornadoes were identified by subsequent surveys making this the most significant tornado outbreak to affect the area since the Katrina-associated tornadoes on August 29, 2005. Millions of dollars of property damage were reported as many homes were destroyed from these tornadoes from the western and southern suburbs of Atlanta southeastward across Macon, Dublin, and other counties in east central and southeast Georgia. Many of these counties were eligible for disaster assistance from the federal government. In addition to the tornadoes and thunderstorm winds that caused extensive damage in dozens of counties across north and central Georgia during the early morning hours of May 11th, strong gradient winds developed on the back side of the strong cold front that moved through the area as low pressure intensified across the mid-Atlantic region. The strong winds combined with wet ground resulted in dozens of trees being blown down in some north Georgia counties. There were also two deaths as a result of downed trees in Barrow and Gwinnett county, all non-thunderstorm-related winds. | |||||||||||
* The information on this page is based on the global volcano database, the U.S. earthquake database of 1638-1985, and the U.S. Tornado and Weather Extremes database of 1950-2010.