Tornado and Hail in Georgia, May 7 to 8, 1998

The public reported quarter to golf ball size hail.

The public reported quarter size hail and a funnel cloud.

A severe thunderstorm tracked across northern Union county spawning an intermittent F0 tornado. A combination of tornadic winds, downburst winds and large hail caused damage in a path from Ivy Log to northeast of Blairsville. Sight survey by NWS employees showed 25 homes and 100 vehicles were damaged. Numerous small trees were downed at the Arrowhead RV park on Ivy Log road. Many RVs had dents and damaged windows from hail. Also, several houses had tin roofs blown off. Another was damaged due to a falling tree. An above-ground pool was destroyed and damage to other homes occurred on Timothy Ingram Road and Ross Ridge Drive. The EMA director reported a tornado on the ground and the sight survey showed trees were occasionally downed in a twisting pattern. One minor injury occurred when a young boy was hit by hail. Other reports northeast of Blairsville indicated up to baseball size hail damaged cars. Trees and power lines were downed along highway 76. Some of the trees fell on a car.

The public reported golf ball to baseball size hail in Young Harris. Up to one and a half inch diameter hail was reported in Hiawassee.

A few public reports indicated dime to nickel size hail north and south of Gainesville.

The public reported golf ball size hail near highway 52 southwest of Homer and also 4 miles northeast of Homer.

The public reported quarter to golf ball size hail.

Spotter and public reports indicated nickel to quarter size hail from Waleska to near Canton. Golf ball to baseball size hail was reported 10 miles east of Canton.

Two spotters reported a funnel cloud.

A spotter reported quarter size hail and wind estimated at 55 mph.

Golf ball size hail was reported by the public.

Numerous public reports were received of hail from quarter to golf ball size. The largest hail appparently fell in Cumming.

The public reported dime to golf ball size hail west and south of Dahlonega.

The Dade county EMA director reported golf ball size hail damaged a house. Tree limbs were also knocked down.

The public reported dime to quarter size hail.

The public reported baseball size and 3 inch diameter hail in the Dahlonega area.

Hall county 911 reported tree damage. There was an unconfirmed report of a tornado.

Hall county 911 reported 1 inch hail and a funnel cloud near Clermont moving southeast. Reports near another storm in southern Hall county indicated quarter to golfball size hail in the Flowery Branch area.

Several public reports indicated hail ranged from golf ball to baseball size. Lots of damage to cars and house roofs occurred.

A public report indicated golf ball to baseball size hail.

Several public reports indicated quarter to golf ball size hail. In addition to hail, a funnel cloud and high winds were reported along highway 129 near the Clarke county line.

A couple of public reports indicated golf ball size hail fell.

Trees were knocked down. Houses were damaged and roofs torn off. There was an unconfirmed report of a tornado.

Golf ball size hail was reported on Interstate 75 near the Whitfield/Gordon county line.

Severe thunderstorm winds damaged a number of houses and mobile homes. One trailer was moved 5 inches off its foundation. Numerous trees were downed, some falling onto houses. At least 6 chicken houses were severely damaged and over 60,000 chickens were killed. Power lines and power poles were also knocked down, causing power outages. The EMA office found no evidence of tornadoes and said the damge was in paths from downdrafts.

Gainseville Field Office of GEMA reported a funnel cloud, high winds and quarter to golf ball size hail on highway 129 at the Clarke/Jackson county line.

A spotter reported 10 to 15 hardwood trees knocked down by thunderstorm winds. The report stated that the trees were felled in a confined area and that there were other reports of trees down in the Oakman area. It appeared the storm was propagating downbursts as it moved east. There was rotation and what appeared to be a lowered cloud base.

The public reported quarter to golf ball size hail.

Quarter size hail was reported near the Walker/Chattooga county line in Walker county.

The public reported dime to golf ball size hail.

Thunderstorm winds knocked several trees down. One fell on a deputy's car. Quarter size hail was also reported.

Several reports indicated hail ranged from dime to ping pong ball size.

A public report indicated 2 inch hail in Armuchee and a spotter reported 3/4 to 1 inch hail in Shannon.

A spotter reported quarter size hail and public reports indicated hail ranging in size from dime to as large as a baseball fell across west and north Cherokee county.

A funnel cloud was spotted by a deputy and several motorists. An unrelated death occurred when a 64 year old male died of a heart attack after reportedly leaving his vehicle to seek refuge from the storm under an overpass on I-575.

A public report said hail as large as 3 to 4 inches fell in Cumming, while several other reports indicated golf ball to baseball size hail in Ducktown, Matt, and Cumming.

Half dollar size hail was reported by the public.

The public reported hail from dime size to as big as a fist covered the ground.

Several public reports stated that hail ranging from dime to as large as golf ball size fell in Adairsville, Cassville, and Cartersville.

The Forsyth county EMA reported several trees and power lines down.

There were several reports of funnels in the Cumming area.

Reports from a sheriff's deputy and a citizen indicated a funnel cloud.

Numerous public reports indicated large hail fell in central and east Bartow county. The hail ranged in size from quarter to baseball size.

Newspaper accounts stated that a barn was destroyed and windows blown out of the house on a farmin Metasville. A funnel cloud was reported, but there was no confirmation of a tornado at the farm.

Several public reports indicated hail ranging from baseball size near the Gwinnett county line at Shoal Creek down to dime size in Gainesville.

Severe thunderstorm winds knocked trees down, primarily in the Five Forks area. Roads were blocked and power lines were taken down by trees. Power outages affected 5700 people.The public reported winds estimated at 60-65 mph that moved cars. Isolated flooding occurred in the southern part of the county that closed part of Parr Wade Road.

Large hail as big as softballs was reported across southern Cherokee county causing damage to cars and RVs. Skylights and glass panels were damaged and destroyed at a hardware store in Woodstock.

A public report indicated hail ranging dime to golf ball size.

Several public reports from across northern Cobb county indicated hail ranging from dime size to as big as a fist. Damage to a house was reported.

The public reported 2 inch hail.

The public made several reports of dime size to 11/2 inch hail.

The Barrow county EMA director reported golf ball size hail damaged cars.

Public reports indicated dime to golf ball size hail.

The public reported dime to golf ball size hail.

The public reported nickel to golf ball size hail across northern Fulton county.

The public reported quarter to golf ball size hail.

Several public reports of hail from dime size to as large as baseballs were received from Duluth, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Grayson, and Dacula.

From 3/4 inch to 21/2 inch hail was reported by the public and an off-duty Weather Service employee. The hail was reported as golf ball size in Bowdon and up to tennis ball size in Carrollton. Cars were dented and had windshields broken. Roofs of houses were damaged and leaves were shredded leaves off trees.

Numerous trees were downed by thunderstorm winds. A canopy over gas pumps at a convenience store was knocked over. Localized flooding occurred when about 21/4 inches of rain fell in 2 hours.

The public reported dime to golf ball size hail.

Several public reports were received from across Coweta county of hail ranging from dime size to 2 inches in diameter. At least 1 car was dented.