Storm Events Database

Event Details:

Event Tornado
-- Scale EF2
-- Length 9.34 Miles
-- Width 400 Yards
State GEORGIA
County/Area BEN HILL
WFO TAE
Report Source NWS Storm Survey
NCEI Data Source CSV
Begin Date 2019-12-17 11:54 EST-5
Begin Location 2SSE FITZGERALD MUNICIPAL ARPT
Begin Lat/Lon 31.6541/-83.2551
End Date 2019-12-17 12:09 EST-5
End Location 3E ASHTON
End Lat/Lon 31.6982/-83.105
Deaths Direct/Indirect 0/0 (fatality details below, when available...)
Injuries Direct/Indirect 0/0
Property Damage 100.00K
Crop Damage 0.00K
Episode Narrative A strong cold front moved through the area with showers and thunderstorms. There were several reports of trees and power lines down, and one storm produced an EF2 tornado that tracked from Irwin into Ben Hill county in Georgia. Additional EF0 tornadoes touched down in Early county, GA, Baker county, GA, and Houston county, AL. An EF1 tornado occurred in Miller county, GA.
Event Narrative The initial touchdown occurred in an un-reachable area of Irwin County approximately nine miles west of Ocilla. The survey team relied on radar data to estimate the touchdown location. The first area the damage assessment team could access was along Ponderosa Road just north of Wood Rd. where dozens of pine trees were snapped and a farm had several outbuildings damaged. Damage...consisting of snapped trees, destroyed outbuildings and damaged irrigation machinery...then continued along a widening path heading east-northeast toward the Mystic community. Damage was significant in Mystic. Several homes suffered serious roof loss and a couple brick buildings were nearly destroyed. Debris including concrete chunks was thrown hundreds of yards into a nearby field. There were hundreds of snapped and uprooted trees of all kinds in the area. Damage was well into the EF-2 range here with max winds estimated at 125 mph, and the damage path widened to near 400 yards. Continuous damage...mainly downed trees and damaged barns...persisted along a wide path as the tornado continued moving east-northeast. The next area of significant damage was noted in a neighborhood south of Fitzgerald, Georgia at the intersection of Vo Tech and Old Whitley Crossing Roads. More than a dozen homes suffered major roof damage here with several experiencing complete loss. A couple RVs were rolled over and heavily damaged. The tornado continued moving northeast eventually crossing into Ben Hill county along Highway 319. Several more homes suffered roof damage, many barns were destroyed and hundreds of trees were snapped. The last evidence of damage was to a barn and trees along Partridge Road approximately 2.5 miles east of the Ashton community. Damage cost was estimated.


    

Event Map:

Note: The tornado track is approximate based on the beginning (B) and ending (E) locations. The actual tornado path may differ from a straight line.
Measure
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All events for this episode:

Location County/Zone St. Date Time T.Z. Type Mag Dth Inj PrD CrD
Totals: 0 0 687.00K 0.00K
ROCK HILL EARLY CO. GA 12/17/2019 07:30 EST-5 Tornado EF0 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
HARMONY CHURCH RD/HWY 45 MILLER CO. GA 12/17/2019 09:27 EST-5 Tornado EF1 0 0 75.00K 0.00K
NEWTON BAKER CO. GA 12/17/2019 10:00 EST-5 Thunderstorm Wind 50 kts. EG 0 0 2.00K 0.00K
NEWTON BAKER CO. GA 12/17/2019 10:00 EST-5 Tornado EF0 0 0 10.00K 0.00K
COLQUITT MILLER CO. GA 12/17/2019 10:32 EST-5 Thunderstorm Wind 50 kts. EG 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
WATERLOO IRWIN CO. GA 12/17/2019 11:39 EST-5 Tornado EF2 0 0 500.00K 0.00K
CHULA TIFT CO. GA 12/17/2019 11:40 EST-5 Thunderstorm Wind 50 kts. EG 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
PINETTA IRWIN CO. GA 12/17/2019 11:45 EST-5 Thunderstorm Wind 50 kts. EG 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
FITZGERALD MUNICIPAL ARPT BEN HILL CO. GA 12/17/2019 11:54 EST-5 Tornado EF2 0 0 100.00K 0.00K
(VLD)VALDOSTA REGIONAL A... LOWNDES CO. GA 12/17/2019 14:00 EST-5 Thunderstorm Wind 50 kts. EG 0 0 0.00K 0.00K
Totals: 0 0 687.00K 0.00K