Tornado, Elbert
- When
- February 16, 7:50 PM EST to 7:53 PM EST
- Where
- Elbert County, 2 mi N of Bowman
- Rating
- F0
- Path length
- 3 mi
- Path width
- 440 yd
- Property damage
- $20,000
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 34.233, -83.033
Tornado in Georgia, February 16, 2001
A strong cold front crossed the region on the evening of the 16th, resulting in gusty winds and strong to severe thunderstorms. Elbert County Sheriff's Department reported a couple of chicken housed damaged and destroyed.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20,000
- 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 GSP wrote it up.
A strong cold front crossed the region on the evening of the 16th, resulting in gusty winds and strong to severe thunderstorms. Elbert County Sheriff's Department reported a couple of chicken housed damaged and destroyed. A brief storm survey found mostly evidence of debris blown forward, but one small area of convergent damage was noted. Several witnesses reported seeing the tornado on the ground. The tornado lifted just short of the Hart County line.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Greenville-Spartanburg, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 16, 5:40 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 5:40 PM EST, 2 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 540 PM EST FRI FEB 16 2001 UPDATED ZONES FOR TORNADO WATCH. DELGADO FCSTID = 11 GSP 51 52 26 47 / 90 0 0 0 AND 52 53 26 48 / 90 0 0 0 CLT 51 52 25 47 / 90 0 0 0 HKY 46 50 23 44 / 90 0 0 0 AVL 40 42 21 41 / 90 10 0 0 .GSP... GA...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 1000 PM FOR GAZ010-017-018-*026-028-029. NC...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 1000 PM FOR NCZ051>053-058-059-062>068. SC...TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 1000 PM FOR SCZ001>008-010>012-019.
The radar
The Greer radar (KGSP), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:47 UTC.
Event by event
1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, February 16, 2001
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Winds in Louisiana, February 16, 2001
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Alabama, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, February 16, 2001
More
Every storm in Georgia in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Georgia, 2001Warnings in Georgia, February 2001
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: 5232355.