Harris County Natural Disasters and Weather Extremes
Hot Georgia Rankings
The chance of earthquake damage in Harris County is higher than Georgia average and is lower than the national average. The risk of tornado damage in Harris County is about the same as Georgia average and is higher than the national average.
Earthquake Index, #3
| Harris County | 0.54 |
| 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
| Harris 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, #47
| Harris County | 179.83 |
| 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 12,073 other weather extremes events within 50 miles of Harris 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: | 63 | Dense Fog: | 3 | Drought: | 100 |
| Dust Storm: | 0 | Flood: | 574 | Hail: | 3,883 | Heat: | 76 | Heavy Snow: | 59 |
| High Surf: | 0 | Hurricane: | 5 | Ice Storm: | 22 | Landslide: | 0 | Strong Wind: | 83 |
| Thunderstorm Winds: | 6,120 | Tropical Storm: | 21 | Wildfire: | 5 | Winter Storm: | 25 | Winter Weather: | 68 |
| Other: | 966 | ||||||||
Volcanos Nearby
No volcano is found in or near Harris County.
Historical Earthquake Events
No historical earthquake events that had recorded magnitudes of 3.5 or above found in or near Harris County.
No historical earthquake events found in or near Harris County.
Historical Tornado Events
A total of 68 historical tornado events that had recorded magnitude of 2 or above found in or near Harris County.
| Distance (miles) | Date | Magnitude | Start Lat/Log | End Lat/Log | Length | Width | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Crop Damage | Affected County |
| 2.5 | 1954-12-05 | 3 | 32°40'N / 85°05'W | 32°52'N / 84°43'W | 24.80 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Harris |
| 4.5 | 1970-03-20 | 2 | 32°40'N / 84°54'W | 2.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Harris | |
| 5.7 | 1970-04-19 | 2 | 32°39'N / 84°54'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 25K | 0 | Harris | |
| 14.3 | 2007-03-01 | 2 | 32°29'N / 85°00'W | 32°34'N / 84°52'W | 9.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 1 | 28.0M | 0K | Muscogee |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City and the National Weather Service in Calera, Alabama, concluded that an EF2 tornado, that originated in Russell county, Alabama, tracked across northwest and north central Muscogee county. The tornado first touched down in extreme northeast Russell county, Alabama about three miles from the Georgia border, then crossed into extreme southeast Lee county, Alabama, and then entered Georgia as it moved across the north end of Lake Oliver, about 1.5 miles west-southwest of Green Island Hills. The tornado continued to travel east-northeast across north Muscogee county, including the north suburbs of Columbus (Green Island Hills, Brookstone, Autumn Ridge, Hamilton Station, and Old Moon Road), before finally lifting three miles west of Midland in north central Muscogee county. The overall tornado path length was approximately 12 miles, with about nine miles of the tornado path within Georgia. The maximum path width was 300 yards. The heaviest damage occurred in the 6200 block of Brookstone Boulevard just north of U.S. Highway 80 in the northwest part of Columbus. Several homes in this area suffered heavy damage and at least one injury was confirmed. In addition, several commercial buildings on Veterans Parkway sustained substantial structural damage. Windows were blown out, large air conditioning units were tossed about, large metal business signs were blown down, and power poles were twisted and blown down. The Hawthorn Suites on North Lake Parkway was destroyed from roof and water damage. Nearby, the Ramada Inn under construction also suffered considerable damage while a nearby Holiday Inn Express sustained minor damage. In addition, several churches, including Wynnbrook Baptist, Saint Mark's United Methodist, and Old Moon Road Churches were heavily damaged. Hundreds of trees were down in the area, a number of which fell on parked cars. Many power lines were down and thousands were left without power, some for over a day. 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. | |||||||||||
| 16.6 | 1978-05-01 | 2 | 32°29'N / 84°59'W | 32°30'N / 84°50'W | 8.90 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 3 | 2.5M | 0 | Muscogee |
| 16.8 | 1953-04-18 | 3 | 32°30'N / 85°00'W | 32°29'N / 84°55'W | 5.10 Miles | 400 Yards | 2 | 300 | 25.0M | 0 | Muscogee |
| 17.3 | 1984-05-03 | 2 | 32°31'N / 85°04'W | 0.40 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Lee | |
| 17.3 | 1961-03-31 | 3 | 32°27'N / 84°59'W | 32°31'N / 84°56'W | 5.20 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Muscogee |
| 17.5 | 1954-12-05 | 3 | 32°52'N / 84°43'W | 32°52'N / 84°36'W | 6.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Meriwether |
| 18.1 | 1970-03-19 | 3 | 32°50'N / 85°12'W | 2.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 2 | 14 | 250K | 0 | Chambers | |
| 18.5 | 2009-02-28 | 2 | 32°35'N / 85°15'W | 32°36'N / 85°07'W | 8.00 Miles | 500 Yards | 0 | 3 | 1.1M | 0K | Lee |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down southwest of the community of Salem. It then moved just north of due east, crossing US-280 and several smaller county roads, before lifting at CR-379. Winds estimated at 125-130 mph destroyed 6 mobile homes and 4 site built homes, badly damaged 8 homes, and caused minor damage to 9 others. Two area businesses were destroyed, one other received minor damage, and one school building was damaged. Hundreds of trees were snapped off and uprooted, and one 18-wheeler was overturned. There were three minor injuries reported, only one that required hospitalization. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A slow moving cold front brought an extended period of severe weather and heavy rain, that lasted about 24 hours. The storms produced damaging winds, large hail, flooding rains, and at least 4 tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 18.7 | 1978-05-01 | 2 | 32°28'N / 85°03'W | 32°29'N / 84°59'W | 4.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Russell |
| 19.6 | 1961-05-09 | 2 | 32°56'N / 85°09'W | 0.80 Mile | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Troup | |
| 19.7 | 2009-04-19 | 2 | 32°27'N / 85°01'W | 32°28'N / 85°00'W | 1.00 Mile | 250 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0K | Russell |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down near the intersection of 22nd Avenue and 17th Street in Phenix City. It then traveled northeast through the south end of Phenix City, and crossed the Chattahoochee River and moved into Muscogee County Georgia. Five businesses sustained major damage, and seven homes received varying degrees of roof damage. At least 100 and as many as 200 trees were snapped or uprooted. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A powerful spring storm system and associated cold front brought numerous thunderstorms to central Alabama. Many of the storms produced large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes. | |||||||||||
| 20.0 | 1954-12-05 | 3 | 32°41'N / 85°25'W | 32°40'N / 85°05'W | 19.40 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Lee |
| 20.4 | 1991-03-29 | 2 | 32°28'N / 85°04'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 16 | 2.5M | 0 | Russell | |
| 20.7 | 1975-01-10 | 2 | 32°36'N / 85°14'W | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Lee | |||
| 20.8 | 1961-03-31 | 3 | 32°26'N / 85°02'W | 32°27'N / 84°59'W | 3.00 Miles | 167 Yards | 0 | 7 | 25K | 0 | Russell |
| 21.4 | 1974-04-02 | 2 | 32°53'N / 85°14'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chambers | |||
| 22.3 | 1963-04-30 | 2 | 32°27'N / 85°12'W | 32°27'N / 85°00'W | 11.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Russell |
| 23.1 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 33°04'N / 84°55'W | 33°04'N / 84°55'W | 1.00 Mile | 150 Yards | 0 | 0 | 80K | 0K | Troup |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A storm survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down approximately one mile south of Louise or 5.5 miles northeast of LaGrange in northeast Troup county. This was just one of 15 tornadoes that affected the central portion of Georgia early on Mother's Day 2008 and the first of two tornadoes, within the same parent thunderstorm, to touch down in Troup county. The tornado touched down near the intersection of U.S. Highway 29 and Willowwood Road. The tornado tracked approximately 1 mile to the east-northeast to a point less than one mile east-southeast of Louise. The path width was approximately 150 yards wide. Three homes were damaged, a well house was destroyed, and numerous large trees were snapped in half along the path of the tornado. 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. | |||||||||||
| 25.0 | 1964-12-26 | 2 | 32°27'N / 85°11'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Russell | |||
| 25.4 | 1953-04-18 | 3 | 32°36'N / 85°35'W | 32°30'N / 85°00'W | 34.70 Miles | 33 Yards | 6 | 195 | 2.5M | 0 | Lee |
| 26.0 | 1954-03-13 | 3 | 32°21'N / 85°01'W | 32°22'N / 84°56'W | 5.10 Miles | 600 Yards | 2 | 20 | 25.0M | 0 | Chattahoochee |
| 26.1 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 33°06'N / 84°53'W | 33°07'N / 84°52'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 50K | 0K | Troup |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that a second tornado touched down in Troup county. This was spawned by the same thunderstorm that earlier spawned the first tornado south of Louise. This second tornado was also rated an EF2, touching down initially 4.5 south-southeast of Hogansville along the 1100 block of Perkins Road. The tornado tracked about one mile east-northeast across Troup county before crossing into Meriwether county. At the point of the initial touchdown on Perkins Road, a house was damaged and two trucks were destroyed as they were lifted up and tossed approximately 50 feet. Just before the tornado crossed into Meriwether county, near the intersection of Perkins Road and Duchesne Lane along the Troup/Meriwether county line, it completly lifted the roof off a brick home and partially destroyed a cinder block outbuilding. The path length within Troup county was approximately one mile with a maximum path width of 300 yards. 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. | |||||||||||
| 26.4 | 2008-05-11 | 2 | 33°06'N / 84°51'W | 33°07'N / 84°49'W | 2.00 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 30K | 0K | Meriwether |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the tornado, that originally touched down in northeastern Troup county, continued into Meriwether county. The EF2 tornado entered Meriwether county a little over two miles west-southwest of Saint Marks and tracked to a point approximately 9.25 miles northwest of Greenville along Saint Marks Road, approximately 3.67 miles northeast of Saint Marks. The tornado tracked a little over two miles within Meriwether county with a maximum path width of 300 yards. Many trees were snapped or uprooted along the path of the tornado. Structural damage was confined to one shed, which was destroyed, and minor roof damage to several homes in the Saint Marks area and east-northeastward toward U.S. Highway 27. Some of this later damage may have been caused by straight-line winds. 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. | |||||||||||
| 27.1 | 1980-04-13 | 2 | 32°36'N / 85°27'W | 32°41'N / 85°17'W | 11.30 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 13 | 2.5M | 0 | Lee |
| 27.7 | 1954-03-13 | 3 | 32°20'N / 85°02'W | 32°21'N / 85°01'W | 1.90 Miles | 880 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Russell |
| 29.0 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 32°27'N / 85°17'W | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Russell | |||
| 33.7 | 1961-02-24 | 2 | 32°14'N / 85°24'W | 32°23'N / 85°00'W | 25.60 Miles | 33 Yards | 0 | 4 | 25K | 0 | Russell |
| 33.8 | 1989-03-05 | 2 | 32°54'N / 85°31'W | 33°06'N / 85°17'W | 15.00 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Chambers |
| 34.2 | 1989-03-05 | 2 | 33°06'N / 85°17'W | 33°10'N / 85°14'W | 0.50 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Randolph |
| 36.5 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 32°18'N / 84°35'W | 32°20'N / 84°28'W | 7.40 Miles | 150 Yards | 0 | 7 | 25K | 0 | Marion |
| 36.5 | 1953-04-30 | 2 | 32°20'N / 84°30'W | 0.30 Mile | 20 Yards | 0 | 3 | 25K | 0 | Marion | |
| 36.8 | 1953-04-18 | 2 | 32°19'N / 84°31'W | 0.20 Mile | 700 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Marion | |
| 37.1 | 1973-05-27 | 2 | 33°15'N / 85°05'W | 0.80 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Heard | |
| 37.7 | 2009-02-18 | 2 | 33°13'N / 84°46'W | 33°14'N / 84°30'W | 16.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 500K | 0K | Coweta |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the EF2 tornado that touched down at 923 Bradberry Road, just inside the Meriwether county line, quickly crossed into Coweta county and continued on an east-northeastward track across far southern Coweta county, crossing into Spalding county approximately four miles east-northeast of Haralson. Within Coweta county the tornado caused minor to moderate damage to several homes. One home completely lost its roof. A horse was killed from flying debris near U.S. Highway 27A. Hundreds of trees were also blown down along the path of the tornado. The tornado tracked almost 16 miles within Coweta county. The maximum path width was estimated to be one mile with maximum winds of 120 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. | |||||||||||
| 38.0 | 1963-01-11 | 2 | 32°54'N / 84°20'W | 32°55'N / 84°15'W | 5.20 Miles | 40 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Upson |
| 38.0 | 1972-01-10 | 2 | 32°44'N / 85°35'W | 32°47'N / 85°33'W | 4.50 Miles | 50 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Chambers |
| 38.5 | 1989-03-05 | 2 | 33°10'N / 85°14'W | 33°22'N / 84°58'W | 20.00 Miles | 167 Yards | 1 | 0 | 2.5M | 0 | Heard |
| 38.7 | 1967-07-07 | 2 | 32°40'N / 84°15'W | 2.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Taylor | |
| 38.8 | 2007-01-07 | 2 | 33°17'N / 84°54'W | 33°18'N / 84°49'W | 4.00 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 0 | 350K | 0K | Coweta |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, GA confirmed that an F2 tornado had touched down approximately 8 miles southwest of Newnan near the intersection of Bohannon Road and New Corinth Road near Blalock Lake. The tornado then traveled northeast between Old Corinth Road and New Corinth Road traveling approximately 4 miles to the northeast along Earl North Road before lifting. As the tornado crossed Walker Brooks Road and Joe Brown Road just northeast of its touchdown point, a home was destroyed. The winds in the tornado at this point were estimated to range between 125 and 135 mph. As the tornado continued northeast along Earl North Road, several homes sustained minor to moderate damage. A number of trees and at least two power lines were also downed along the path of the tornado. Damage was also reported to a convenience store awning and several storage sheds were destroyed. Portions of Earl North Road were blocked from downed trees and telephone poles. While several residents, including a 14-year old boy were trapped in homes from debris and downed trees, no injuries were reported and all were rescued safely. The tornado path length was approximately four miles long with a maximum path width of 200 yards. EPISODE NARRATIVE: Another strong storm system and deep upper trough, similar to the one of January 5th, swept through the area during the afternoon hours of January 7th. A weak warm front was located across middle Georgia. A narrow, yet intense squall line spread into the area during the mid-afternoon bringing severe weather and yet another tornado to Coweta county in West Central Georgia. This was the third tornado in Coweta county since January 1st. Overall, however, the total amount of severe weather was less also less widespread than that observed on January 5th. | |||||||||||
| 40.4 | 2006-01-02 | 3 | 33°09'N / 84°27'W | 33°09'N / 84°24'W | 3.00 Miles | 440 Yards | 0 | 3 | 750K | 0 | Pike |
| Brief Description: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service and confirmed by Emergency Managers from both Pike and Meriwether counties concluded that an F3 tornado touched down one mile southeast of Hollonville in northwest Pike county and traveled east for approximately 3 miles, terminating at a point about 4 miles east-southeast of Hollonville in north central Pike county. Five homes along the path were extensively damaged or destroyed. One home was moved 60 feet from its foundation. Two vehicles were thrown 250 yards. Several farm structures were also damaged in the area. A number of trees and power lines were also down in the area. Three injuries were reported during the event. Two men that were working in a barn were injured when the tornado blew the barn away. A third man was injured while clinging to a fence post that the tornado ripped from the ground. The tornado had an overall path length of 3 miles with a path width of 1/4 mile. One interesting note is that family photographs from one of the homes destroyed near Hollonville were found as far away as Williamson, near the Spalding county line. | |||||||||||
| 40.5 | 1961-02-24 | 2 | 32°33'N / 84°15'W | 2.00 Miles | 30 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Taylor | |
| 40.5 | 1954-03-13 | 3 | 32°32'N / 84°22'W | 32°40'N / 84°06'W | 18.10 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 10 | 2.5M | 0 | Taylor |
| 42.1 | 1970-04-02 | 3 | 33°20'N / 84°48'W | 0.30 Mile | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Coweta | |
| 43.0 | 2009-02-18 | 2 | 33°15'N / 84°30'W | 33°12'N / 84°25'W | 5.00 Miles | 1760 Yards | 0 | 0 | 825K | 0K | Spalding |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that the tornado that initially touched down in Meriwether county, then tracked across southern Coweta county, crossed into Spalding county approximately four miles east-northeast of Haralson or 7 miles west of Zetella. The tornado remain an EF2 as it tracked across southwest and into south central Spalding county, lifting just shy of the Pike county line about five miles west of Rover. Extensive damage was observed along the track of the tornado Four homes were completely destroyed and 40 others sustained minor to moderate damage. Dozens of trees were also down along the path of the tornado. The tornado tracked roughly five miles with southern Spalding county with a maximum path width of one mile and maximum winds of 120 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. | |||||||||||
| 43.4 | 1981-04-01 | 3 | 32°15'N / 85°24'W | 32°15'N / 85°23'W | 2 | 23 | 25.0M | 0 | Russell | ||
| 43.6 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 32°09'N / 84°39'W | 32°10'N / 84°33'W | 6.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 8 | 250K | 0 | Webster |
| 43.6 | 1989-03-05 | 3 | 33°17'N / 84°50'W | 33°25'N / 84°41'W | 14.00 Miles | 120 Yards | 0 | 23 | 25.0M | 0 | Coweta |
| 44.4 | 2008-02-17 | 2 | 32°05'N / 85°09'W | 32°08'N / 85°03'W | 8.00 Miles | 1000 Yards | 0 | 4 | 120K | 0K | Russell |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: The tornado touched down near the intersection of US Highway 431 and CR-51 in the southern portion of the county. It then tracked northeastward to the Chattahoochee River near the Cottonton community, before crossing the river into Georgia. The most significant damage was located near CR-12. At least two mobile homes were destroyed and two frame houses received significant damage. Numerous trees were either snapped off or were uprooted along the path. At least one vehicle was flipped over. Four injuries were reported. EPISODE NARRATIVE: A broken squall line, sparked by an advancing cold front and strong upper level storm, caused severe thunderstorms and tornadoes across Central Alabama. | |||||||||||
| 44.6 | 1984-05-03 | 2 | 32°26'N / 85°37'W | 32°26'N / 85°34'W | 3.50 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Macon |
| 45.6 | 1974-01-26 | 3 | 33°08'N / 85°28'W | 33°24'N / 85°17'W | 21.30 Miles | 150 Yards | 1 | 7 | 250K | 0 | Randolph |
| 45.8 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 32°10'N / 84°33'W | 32°11'N / 84°25'W | 7.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Stewart |
| 46.6 | 1964-12-24 | 3 | 33°30'N / 84°55'W | 33°15'N / 84°25'W | 33.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Troup |
| 46.7 | 1961-04-09 | 2 | 32°03'N / 84°48'W | 32°05'N / 84°44'W | 4.90 Miles | 300 Yards | 0 | 0 | 0K | 0 | Stewart |
| 46.9 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 31°58'N / 84°57'W | 32°09'N / 84°39'W | 21.60 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 20 | 250K | 0 | Stewart |
| 47.1 | 1962-02-22 | 2 | 32°36'N / 84°07'W | 0.80 Mile | 33 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Taylor | |
| 47.3 | 1989-03-05 | 2 | 33°22'N / 84°58'W | 33°28'N / 84°50'W | 10.00 Miles | 167 Yards | 0 | 6 | 2.5M | 0 | Coweta |
| 47.8 | 2005-08-29 | 2 | 33°24'N / 85°05'W | 33°25'N / 85°05'W | 1.50 Miles | 200 Yards | 0 | 3 | 750K | 0 | Heard |
| Brief Description: A National Weather Survey Team concluded that an F2 tornado touched down approximately 1/4 mile south of Glenloch in far northern Heard county, then continued north at 30-35 mph into Carroll county about three miles southeast of Roopville, finally terminating three miles northeast of Roopville. This was the first confirmed tornado in the Peachtree City forecast area associated with Hurricane Katrina. While the overall damage path with this tornado was 5.5 miles long, only 1.5 miles of this damage path occurred within Heard county. The path width of this tornado was approximately 200 yards wide. Several homes in the Glenloch area were severely damaged, along with a number of downed trees and power lines. Three residents at one of the damaged homes were injured by debris during the tornado. | |||||||||||
| 48.3 | 1971-04-23 | 2 | 32°22'N / 84°13'W | 32°24'N / 84°10'W | 3.80 Miles | 100 Yards | 1 | 10 | 25K | 0 | Macon |
| 48.4 | 1957-04-05 | 2 | 32°12'N / 84°21'W | 32°18'N / 84°16'W | 8.60 Miles | 400 Yards | 2 | 3 | 250K | 0 | Schley |
| 48.9 | 2007-03-01 | 2 | 32°29'N / 84°09'W | 32°34'N / 84°04'W | 8.00 Miles | 448 Yards | 1 | 4 | 500K | 0K | Taylor |
| Brief Description: EVENT NARRATIVE: A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, GA concluded that an EF2 tornado had tracked across a 7-mile stretch of eastern Taylor county from about three miles southwest of Potterville to about two miles east of Reynolds. The tornado traveled a path of between seven and eight miles with a maximum path width of 448 yards or roughly 1/3 of a mile wide. The heaviest damage was southwest of Potterville, where two mobile homes were destroyed and others were damaged. One of the mobile homes was rolled. One death and four injuries were reported in the area of the damaged and destroyed mobile homes. Numerous trees and power lines were down throughout the area. Several were down on Bear Road in Potterville. Damage to trees and roofs of several homes continued through and east of Reynolds, although the damage in this area was not as severe. 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. | |||||||||||
| 49.1 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 32°11'N / 84°25'W | 32°11'N / 84°20'W | 4.90 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 4 | 250K | 0 | Schley |
| 49.6 | 1961-03-31 | 2 | 32°14'N / 84°18'W | 0.50 Mile | 400 Yards | 0 | 0 | 25K | 0 | Schley | |
| 49.7 | 1957-04-05 | 2 | 32°18'N / 84°16'W | 32°31'N / 84°02'W | 20.20 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 2 | 250K | 0 | Macon |
| 49.7 | 1954-12-05 | 2 | 32°11'N / 84°20'W | 32°15'N / 84°18'W | 5.20 Miles | 100 Yards | 0 | 0 | 250K | 0 | Stewart |
| 49.8 | 1963-01-20 | 2 | 32°15'N / 84°18'W | 32°16'N / 84°14'W | 4.30 Miles | 400 Yards | 0 | 1 | 250K | 0 | Schley |
* 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.