Georgia, 1996

Tornado in Georgia, November 8, 1996

November 8, 1996 · NWS FFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A mixture of severe thunderstorm winds and tornado damage occurred in a track from near Chester in northern Dodge county into Laurens county. In Dodge county near the intersection of highways 257 and 126 down-burst/straight-line winds pushed over several very large oak and sycamore trees, blew the tin roof off of an older home, and blew the steeple off of a church.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
6
Property damage
$200,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.

A mixture of severe thunderstorm winds and tornado damage occurred in a track from near Chester in northern Dodge county into Laurens county. In Dodge county near the intersection of highways 257 and 126 down-burst/straight-line winds pushed over several very large oak and sycamore trees, blew the tin roof off of an older home, and blew the steeple off of a church. The roof was lifted from a stronger, well-built home about three-quarters of a mile from the Dodge/Laruens county line. A tornado touched down just inside Dodge county near the Dodge/Laurens county line destroying a double-wide mobile home. A seven year old girl was killed and six other family members were injured. Victims were found in a wooded area as far as 200 yards away from where the mobile home had stood. The home had not been tied down.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Dodge

When
November 8, 5:35 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST
Where
Dodge County, Chester to 2 mi NE of Chester
Rating
F2
Path length
4 mi
Path width
50 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$200,000
Coordinates
32.380, -83.170

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Dodge1996-11-087FemaleMobile/Trailer HomeDirect

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Georgia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Georgia, 1996Warnings in Georgia, November 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5573197.