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Storm Events Database
Event Details
| Event | Tornado |
| -- Scale | EF2 |
| -- Length | 2.1 Miles |
| -- Width | 300 Yards |
| State | GEORGIA |
| County/Area | MERIWETHER |
| WFO | FFC |
| Begin Date | 05/11/2008 03:20:00 EST-5 |
| Begin Range | 2 |
| Begin Azimuth | WSW |
| Begin Location | ST MARKS |
| Begin Lat/Lon | 33.11/-84.86 |
| End Date | 05/11/2008 03:29:00 EST-5 |
| End Range | 9 |
| End Azimuth | NW |
| End Location | GREENVILLE |
| End Lat/Lon | 33.12/-84.83 |
| Deaths Direct/Indirect | 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...) |
| Injuries Direct/Indirect | 0/0 |
| Property Damage | 30.00K |
| Crop Damage | 0.00K |
| 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. |
| 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. |
All events for this episode:
| Location | County/Zone | St. | Date | Time | T.Z. | Type | Mag | Dth | Inj | PrD | CrD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals: | 4 | 13 | 70.192M | 0.00K | |||||||
| BRASELTON | JACKSON CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 03:30 | EST-5 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MACON | BIBB CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 14:15 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 35 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 1.00K | 0.00K |
| MACON | BIBB CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 14:15 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| WILLIAMSON | PIKE CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 17:05 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| ORCHARD HILL | SPALDING CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 17:10 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| LIZELLA | BIBB CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 17:44 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 1.000M | 0.00K |
| GRISWOLDVILLE | JONES CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 18:00 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 30.00K | 0.00K |
| OWENSBORO | WILCOX CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 20:45 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K |
| RHINE | DODGE CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 21:07 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 10.00K | 0.00K |
| MILAN | TELFAIR CO. | GA | 05/10/2008 | 21:30 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| FAIRBURN | FULTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 01:05 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 2.000M | 0.00K |
| MORROW | CLAYTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 01:15 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 1.000M | 0.00K |
| CONYERS | ROCKDALE CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 01:36 | EST-5 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| GOOD HOPE | WALTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 02:20 | EST-5 | Hail | 1.00 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| LAWRENCEVILLE | GWINNETT CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 02:25 | EST-5 | Lightning | 0 | 0 | 100.00K | 0.00K | |
| FARMINGTON | OCONEE CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 02:30 | EST-5 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| WARM SPGS | MERIWETHER CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 02:59 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 39 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 15.00K | 0.00K |
| JONESVILLE | CARROLL CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:05 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 61 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.000M | 0.00K |
| JONESVILLE | CARROLL CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:08 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.000M | 0.00K |
| LOUISE | TROUP CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:08 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 80.00K | 0.00K |
| HOGANSVILLE | TROUP CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:18 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K |
| ST MARKS | MERIWETHER CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:20 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 30.00K | 0.00K |
| CARROLLTON | CARROLL CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:25 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.000M | 0.00K |
| FAIRPLAY | DOUGLAS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:28 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 56 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 1.500M | 0.00K |
| FAIRBURN | FULTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 03:41 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 150.00K | 0.00K |
| MORROW | CLAYTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:17 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 7.500M | 0.00K |
| THE ROCK | UPSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:20 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| STOCKBRIDGE | HENRY CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:22 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| THE ROCK | UPSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:25 | EST-5 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MAGNET | ROCKDALE CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:30 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| CUSSETA | CHATTAHOOCHEE CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:31 | EST-5 | Hail | 0.88 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| MUSELLA | CRAWFORD CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:40 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 10.00K | 0.00K |
| OAK HILL | NEWTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:43 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00K | 0.00K |
| DYAS | MONROE CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:45 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 500.00K | 0.00K |
| LIZELLA | BIBB CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:45 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 61 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 150.00K | 0.00K |
| LIZELLA | BIBB CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:50 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 5.000M | 0.00K |
| MURRAYS XRDS | SCHLEY CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:54 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 50 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 2.00K | 0.00K |
| BYRON | PEACH CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:55 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 50 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 10.00K | 0.00K |
| MACON | BIBB CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 04:56 | EST-5 | Hail | 0.75 in. | 0 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| WARNER ROBINS | HOUSTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:00 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 39 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 2.00K | 0.00K |
| BROWNS CROSSING | BALDWIN CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:05 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 7.00K | 0.00K |
| MARSHALLVILLE | MACON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:10 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 50 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 2.00K | 0.00K |
| DRY BRANCH | TWIGGS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:11 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 56 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| DRY BRANCH | TWIGGS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:11 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| FITZPATRICK | TWIGGS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:15 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.000M | 0.00K |
| PENNINGTON | MORGAN CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:17 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| NICKELSVILLE | WILKINSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:19 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 56 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 10.00K | 0.00K |
| GORDON | WILKINSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:19 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K |
| FRIENDSHIP | SUMTER CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:30 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 50 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 2.00K | 0.00K |
| MONTROSE | LAURENS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:32 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 56 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 50.00K | 0.00K |
| CHAPPELLS MILL | LAURENS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:36 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 2 | 2 | 1.400M | 0.00K |
| TUCKERS CROSSROAD | LAURENS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:44 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 900.00K | 0.00K |
| SILAS | WASHINGTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:45 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 150.00K | 0.00K |
| SANDERSVILLE | WASHINGTON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:45 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 65 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 150.00K | 0.00K |
| SPANN | JOHNSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:48 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 5 | 15.000M | 0.00K |
| ALMIRA | JEFFERSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:57 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 56 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 500.00K | 0.00K |
| GRANGE | JEFFERSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:57 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 5.000M | 0.00K |
| LOWERY | LAURENS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 05:58 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 900.00K | 0.00K |
| KITE | JOHNSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:01 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 78 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 250.00K | 0.00K |
| KITE | JOHNSON CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:01 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 7.000M | 0.00K |
| BLUNDALE | EMANUEL CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:07 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 78 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| BLUNDALE | EMANUEL CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:07 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 750.00K | 0.00K |
| MC RAE | TELFAIR CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:10 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 43 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| SOPERTON | TREUTLEN CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:11 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 200.00K | 0.00K |
| KIBBEE | MONTGOMERY CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:16 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 25.00K | 0.00K |
| NORMANTOWN | TOOMBS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:20 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF2 | 0 | 3 | 500.00K | 0.00K |
| LESLIE | SUMTER CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:25 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| ELTON | TOOMBS CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 06:35 | EST-5 | Tornado | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 5.00K | 0.00K |
| RAMHURST | MURRAY CO. | GA | 05/11/2008 | 09:02 | EST-5 | Thunderstorm Wind | 52 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 15.00K | 0.00K |
| CHEROKEE (ZONE) | CHEROKEE (ZONE) | GA | 05/11/2008 | 12:48 | EST-5 | Strong Wind | 39 kts. EG | 0 | 0 | 100.00K | 0.00K |
| BARROW (ZONE) | BARROW (ZONE) | GA | 05/11/2008 | 13:00 | EST-5 | Strong Wind | 39 kts. EG | 1 | 0 | 10.00K | 0.00K |
| GWINNETT (ZONE) | GWINNETT (ZONE) | GA | 05/11/2008 | 13:00 | EST-5 | Strong Wind | 42 kts. EG | 1 | 0 | 0.00K | 0.00K |
| Totals: | 4 | 13 | 70.192M | 0.00K |
