Two different tornadoes were reported within Murray County, within a short distance of each other although it is not believed they are the same one. The first touched down on the west side of Maple Grove Church Road.
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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.
The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.
Two different tornadoes were reported within Murray County, within a short distance of each other although it is not believed they are the same one. The first touched down on the west side of Maple Grove Church Road. A few tree tops were broken on the outskirts of a yard. Moving into the yard, a chicken coop was completely destroyed, a barn had a tin roof badly damaged, with pieces of the tin ripped off and blown eastward about 30-40 yards against trees. Also along this line, was a garage that was totally removed from its foundation and destroyed. The south side of the yard had three trees that were blown down pointing west. A pine tree was lifted from elsewhere and dropped into the yard along side an apple and oak tree. A few shingles were lifted from the south side of the house and blown into the front yard and across Maple Grove Church.On the east side of Maple Grove Church Road, at the intersection of Valley Drive, a house had a few pieces of vinyl peeled from the front wall above the garage. Twenty yards away, a mobile home was pushed from its foundation. Fifty yards up the hill a mailbox was blown down, and the underpinnings were torn from a mobile home. Another 30 yards west, another mobile home was rolled down a hill and destroyed. Eyewitnesses reported that this occurred at approximately 615 pm EDT. One person was thrown approximately 20-30 yards to the northeast, while up to five others were inside the mobile home as it bounced and rolled down the hill. At least one injury (broken arm, cuts and bruises) was reported at this site. A trap was ripped off of the frame, leaving it exposed however all of the installed plumbing was intact.Along this path, there were indications that the tornado lifted and touched down several times. The tornado moved across an open field beyond the trailer where it finally lifted and moved over a wooded area.A short distance away a second tornado touched down along Georgia Highway 282. Most of the damage from this short-lived portion was to a wooded area. Numerous Pine trees were uprooted and snapped. At least one home suffered structural damage from fallen trees. Although no injuries were reported here, officials were worried about an infant who was hooked up to a heart monitor.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Georgia, 1997Warnings in Georgia, April 1997
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: 5595211, 5595212.