Strong winds associated with Hurricane Katrina affected much of northwest, north central, and west central Georgia from the early morning hours until around sunset. Damage was minor and wind gusts were mostly in the 30 to 35 mph range.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
Strong winds associated with Hurricane Katrina affected much of northwest, north central, and west central Georgia from the early morning hours until around sunset. Damage was minor and wind gusts were mostly in the 30 to 35 mph range. Damage was confined mainly to scattered downed trees and power lines. Power outages were isolated and not long lasting in any area. A few of the fallen trees also landed in roadways causing temporary closures. It is believe that strong winds affected most counties in northwest, north central, and west central Georgia, however only specific details of damage were received from the counties listed below.DeKalb: Several reports of trees and power lines down, some blocking roadways. Estimated Damage: $5,000Douglas: A few trees and power lines down across the county. Estimated Damage: $2,000Fannin: Scattered trees and power lines down throughout the day across the county. A few down on roads and power lines. Estimated Damage: $3,000Fulton: Scattered trees and power lines down throughout the day across the county. A few down on roads and power lines. Estimated Damage: $5,000Gwinnett: Isolated reports of trees and power lines down throughout the early morning hours. Estimated Damage: $2,000Newton: A few trees and power lines down across the county. Estimated Damage: $1,000Rockdale: A few trees and power lines down across the county. Estimated Damage: $1,000
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 Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 30, 2:31 AM EST, 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 331 AM EDT TUE AUG 30 2005 .SHORT TERM... THE FIRST PART OF THE SHORT TERM IS DOMINATED BY WHAT IS CURRENTLY TROPICAL STORM KATRINA. AT AFD TIME...KATRINA WAS WORKING HER WAY THROUGH NORTHWESTERN ALABAMA AND INTO CENTRAL TENNESSEE. THE FINAL COUPLE OF NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED RAIN BANDS WILL BE PUSHING THROUGH NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. INDICATIONS ON THE GFS WITH 200 MB DIVERGENCE AND PW MAXIMA ARE NOT AS CLEARLY JUXTAPOSED AS THEY HAVE BEEN ON PREVIOUS RUNS...SO DO NOT FEEL THAT WIDESPREAD FLOODING IS LIKELY. HOWEVER...THERE HAS BEEN AND CERTAINLY WILL CONTINUE TO BE A THREAT OF FLOODING AND FLASH FLOODING WITH ANY STORM THAT DEVELOPS ESPECIALLY WITH THE ORIENTATION OF THE BANDS AND THE TRAINING OF THE CELLS AS THEY MOVE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT AS CELLS APPROACH MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN. IN ADDITION...SOILS ARE ALREADY SATURATED FROM THE MONTHS OF ABOVE-NORMAL RAINFALL THE AREA HAS EXPERIENCED. THUS THE FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE CWA THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. HAVE KEPT POPS IN THE CATEGORICAL RANGE NORTHWEST...GRADUALLY TAPERING OFF THROUGH THE DAY. BEHIND THESE RAIN BANDS...DRY AIR ENTRAINMENT IS KICKING IN FULL FORCE ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE OF THE STORM. SOME SORT OF PHENOMENON... WHETHER SIMPLE SUBSIDENCE OR SOMETHING MORE COMPLICATED...IS BRINGING STRONG WINDS TO THE SURFACE IN AREAS JUST TO OUR WEST. BASED ON REPORTS COMING OUT OF ALABAMA A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ROUGHLY THE WESTERN HALF OF THE CWA UNTIL 6 AM. WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA ARE LIKELY TO STILL BE MET AFTER THESE STRONG WINDS PASS BY...AND FOR NOW THE WIND ADVISORY WILL REMAIN UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING. MODEL PROGS OF HELICITY CONTINUE TO RANGE FROM 200-300 M2/S2 THROUGH GENERALLY MID-MORNING...AND 0-1KM SHEAR VALUES APPROACH 40KTS. HOWEVER...FOR THE LATTER...MODEL RESOLUTION AT THESE LEVELS ARE SOMETIMES NOT SUFFICIENT FOR EVEN A DECENT PROGNOSTICATION OF 0-1KM SHEAR...NEVERTHELESS THE TORNADO THREAT IS DEFINITELY A CONCERN THAT REMAINS AS LONG AS THESE FEEDER BANDS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA. ONCE KATRINA MOVES OUT OF THE AREA COMPETING SYSTEMS BEGIN ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST. A SHORTWAVE WITH ATTENDANT VORTICITY MAX SWEEPS THROUGH JUST NORTH OF THE AREA IN THE IMMEDIATE WAKE OF KATRINA... AND THEN ONCE AGAIN UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE WEST. HOWEVER...SOME SORT OF TROUGH OR BOUNDARY STALLS JUST OFF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES COAST TOWARDS THE END OF THE SHORT TERM. WHILE MOST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA WILL ACTUALLY SEE A DRY BEGINNING TO SEPTEMBER...THIS STALLED BOUNDARY OR AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WARRANT KEEPING IN A SLIGHT CHANCE OF POPS IN THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST ZONES THROUGH THURSDAY. SYNOPTIC SCALE UPPER-LEVEL SUBSIDENCE AND INCREASED THICKNESS VALUES WILL LEAD TO HIGH TEMPERATURES RISING TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL LEVELS THROUGH MIDWEEK...BUT DRIER AIR WILL ALLOW NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURES TO COOL OFF TO BELOW NORMAL...IN SOME CASES FIVE OR MORE DEGREES BELOW NORMAL VALUES. .LONG TERM... UPPER HIGH BUILDS IN OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY WHILE A SURFACE HIGH OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL ALLOW A SURFACE FLOW TO BUILD IN FROM THE NORTH OVER THE WEEKEND. PERSISTENT LOW PRESSURE OFF THE FLORIDA COAST WILL TEASE OUR SOUTHEASTERN ZONES WITH PERHAPS A FEW MORE CLOUDS...BUT HAVE NOT INCLUDED ANY POPS AT THIS TIME. THE GFS DOES INDICATE TOWARDS THE END OF THE EXTENDED THAT THE UPPER HIGH WILL SHIFT OFF TO THE NORTH AND EAST...ALLOWING THE SURFACE LOW TO COME ONSHORE SPREADING CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST. HAVE LEFT IT DRY FOR NOW. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATLANTA 82 72 89 69 / 60 40 20 10 ATHENS 80 71 90 68 / 50 40 20 10 GAINESVILLE 78 70 86 67 / 70 40 30 10 ROME 82 73 90 64 / 90 40 30 10 COLUMBUS 88 75 94 72 / 40 40 20 10 MACON 88 74 92 68 / 40 40 20 10 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM TUESDAY FOR GAZ001-GAZ002-GAZ003-GAZ004- GAZ005-GAZ006-GAZ007-GAZ008-GAZ009-GAZ011-GAZ012-GAZ013-GAZ014- GAZ015-GAZ016-GAZ019-GAZ020-GAZ021-GAZ022-GAZ023-GAZ024-GAZ025- GAZ027-GAZ030-GAZ031-GAZ032-GAZ033-GAZ034-GAZ035-GAZ036-GAZ037- GAZ041-GAZ042-GAZ043-GAZ044-GAZ045-GAZ046-GAZ047-GAZ048-GAZ049- GAZ052-GAZ053-GAZ054-GAZ055-GAZ056-GAZ057-GAZ058-GAZ059-GAZ066- GAZ067-GAZ068-GAZ069-GAZ070-GAZ071-GAZ078-GAZ079-GAZ080-GAZ081- GAZ089-GAZ090-GAZ091-GAZ102. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY FOR WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA AND NORTHWEST GEORGIA. TORNADO WATCH 757 UNTIL 6 AM TUESDAY FOR WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...NORTHWEST GEORGIA...NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. FLOOD WATCH UNTIL 6 PM TUESDAY FOR WEST CENTRAL GEORGIA...NORTH CENTRAL GEORGIA...NORTHWEST GEORGIA...NORTHEAST GEORGIA AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. && TDP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 625 AM EDT MON AUG 29 2005 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-301025- BALDWIN-BANKS-BARROW-BARTOW-BIBB-BLECKLEY-BUTTS-CARROLL-CATOOSA- CHATTAHOOCHEE-CHATTOOGA-CHEROKEE-CLARKE-CLAYTON-COBB-COWETA-CRAWFORD- CRISP-DADE-DAWSON-DE KALB-DODGE-DOOLY-DOUGLAS-EMANUEL-FANNIN-FAYETTE- FLOYD-FORSYTH-GILMER-GLASCOCK-GORDON-GREENE-GWINNETT-HALL-HANCOCK- HARALSON-HARRIS-HEARD-HENRY-HOUSTON-JACKSON-JASPER-JEFFERSON-JOHNSON- JONES-LAMAR-LAURENS-LUMPKIN-MACON-MADISON-MARION-MERIWETHER-MONROE- MONTGOMERY-MORGAN-MURRAY-MUSCOGEE-NEWTON-NORTH FULTON-OCONEE- OGLETHORPE-PAULDING-PEACH-PICKENS-PIKE-POLK-PULASKI-PUTNAM-ROCKDALE- SCHLEY-SOUTH FULTON-SPALDING-STEWART-SUMTER-TALBOT-TALIAFERRO-TAYLOR- TELFAIR-TOOMBS-TOWNS-TREUTLEN-TROUP-TWIGGS-UNION-UPSON-WALKER-WALTON- WARREN-WASHINGTON-WEBSTER-WHEELER-WHITE-WHITFIELD-WILCOX-WILKES- WILKINSON- 625 AM EDT MON AUG 29 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...TODAY. ...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... .SYNOPSIS... HURRICANE KATRINA WILL MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE LOUISIANA GULF COAST NEAR NEW ORLEANS THIS MORNING. AS KATRINA MOVES NORTH INTO LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI OUTER SPIRAL BANDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO MOVE NORTH THROUGH GEORGIA TODAY AND TONIGHT. .PRIMARY HAZARD... THE PRIMARY HAZARD FROM SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE PERIODS OF VERY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS TO 60 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING...AND ISOLATED TORNADOES. THE BEST TIME FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DISCUSSION... MOISTURE IS INCREASING OVER THE AREA WITH KATRINA EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL ALONG THE LOUISIANA GULF COAST NEAR NEW ORLEANS THIS MORNING. WHILE GEORGIA ITSELF IS NOT IN THE BEST AREA FOR HEAVY RAINFALL BASED ON TYPICAL PARAMETERS...THE FORECAST MODELS ARE HINTING AT A NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED CONVECTIVE FEEDER BAND DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA TODAY. THIS BAND HAS PRECIPITATION EFFICIENCY VALUES OF 2 TO 2.5 INCHES ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA BEGINNING THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUING THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. WITH THE GROUND ALREADY SATURATED FROM THE RAIN RECEIVED IN JULY AND AUGUST THERE COULD BE SOME FLOODING ACROSS THE COUNTY WARNING AREA. CURRENTLY A FEW ISOLATED STORMS HAVE BEEN STRONGLY ROTATING IN THE RAIN BANDS CLOSER TO KATRINAS CENTER. THERE IS ALSO SOME LOW LEVEL SHEAR IN PLACE AND GIVEN THE PERSISTENT OF THIS STORM THE THREAT FOR AN ISOLATED TORNADO IS THERE. THE BEST PLACE FOR TORNADO DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE ACROSS WESTERN GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON. WITH DAYTIME HEATING...INSTABILITY INDICES ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO INCREASE WITH CAPES IN THE 1000 TO 1500 RANGE AND LIFTED INDICES AROUND MINUS 2 TO MINUS 3. CAN NOT RULE OUT ISOLATED SEVERE DEVELOPMENT OVER EASTERN GEORGIA AS THE RAIN BANDS WILL SPAN ACROSS THE ENTIRE STATE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS ANTICIPATED TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. DUE TO HURRICANE KATRINA...AREAS OF HEAVY RAINFALL...FLOODING AND STRONG GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED TUESDAY. THERE MAY BE AN ISOLATED SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY MORNING BUT THINGS SHOULD START CLEARING OUT WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. && FOR THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND OTHER WEATHER INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WEATHER.GOV...AND CLICK ON GEORGIA.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1045 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2005 GAZ035-300330- 1045 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2005 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR VERY HEAVY RAIN AND WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH IN BARROW COUNTY UNTIL 1130 PM EDT... AT 1039 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH VERY HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS NORTHERN WALTON COUNTY AND SOUTHERN BARROW COUNTY MOVING NORTH AT 40 MPH. HOWEVER...ADDITIONAL RAINFALL CONTINUES TO DEVELOP TO THE SOUTH AND TRAIN OVER THIS SAME AREA. FLOODING OF SOME STREETS AND LOW-LYING AREAS IN THE REGION CAN BE EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT TWO HOURS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR COMMERCIAL RADIO AND TELEVISION FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS. RAB
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1150 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2005 GAZ024-300430- 1150 PM EDT MON AUG 29 2005 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ALERT FOR VERY HEAVY RAIN AND WIND GUSTS TO 45 MPH WINDS IN BANKS COUNTY UNTIL 1230 AM EDT... AT 1145 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A CLUSTER OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS 8 MILES WEST OF HOMER...MOVING NORTH AT 30 MPH. THE STRONGEST PART OF THESE STORMS WILL REMAIN NEAR THE BANKS...HALL COUNTY LINE. GUSTY WINDS AND TORRENTIAL RAINFALL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THIS ACTIVITY ACROSS THE FAR WESTERN PORTION OF BANKS COUNTY. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT. CONTINUE TO MONITOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO...WEATHER.GOV OR OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS FOR FURTHER STATEMENTS OR POSSIBLE WARNINGS ON THESE STORMS. RAB
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
205 AM EDT TUE AUG 30 2005
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0420 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 E ROOPVILLE 33.46N 85.11W
08/29/2005 CARROLL GA PUBLIC
POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGED TRAILER AND SOME BUILDINGS NEAR
HWY 5 AND MILLIGAN CREEK RD
0425 PM TSTM WND DMG ROOPVILLE 33.46N 85.13W
08/29/2005 CARROLL GA EMERGENCY MNGR
POSSIBLE TORNADO ON HWY 27 NEAR ROOPVILLE. NUMEROUS HOMES
AND CHICKEN HOUSES DESTROYED. TWO PEOPLE TRAPPED.
0440 PM TSTM WND DMG 3 S CARROLLTON 33.54N 85.08W
08/29/2005 CARROLL GA EMERGENCY MNGR
POSSIBLE TORNADO ON HWY 27 SOUTH OF CARROLLTON.
0525 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 E CEDARTOWN 34.02N 85.24W
08/29/2005 POLK GA EMERGENCY MNGR
POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGED OR DESTROYED STRUCTURES ON EAST
SIDE OF CEDARTOWN.
0635 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 S BOGART 33.87N 83.53W
08/29/2005 OCONEE GA EMERGENCY MNGR
POSSIBLE TORNADO BLEW ROOF OFF PORCH AND KNOCKED TREES
DOWN NEAR HIGHWAY 53 AND 78 INTERSECTION.
0635 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 NNE BUTLER 32.62N 84.20W
08/29/2005 TAYLOR GA LAW ENFORCEMENT
POSSIBLE TORNADO TORE ROOF OFF OF PORCH AND KNOCKED DOWN
POWER LINES.
0710 PM TSTM WND DMG FORT VALLEY 32.55N 83.89W
08/29/2005 PEACH GA EMERGENCY MNGR
*** 1 INJ *** POSSIBLE TORNADO CAUSED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO
BUILDINGS AND DOWNED TREES ON NORTH SIDE OF FORT VALLEY.
UNKNOWN NUMBER OF MINOR INJURIES ALSO REPORTED.
0745 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 E MORGANTON 34.87N 84.23W
08/29/2005 FANNIN GA EMERGENCY MNGR
POSSIBLE TORNADO DAMAGED A CHURCH AND BROUGHT TREES DOWN
ON SEVERAL HOUSES. SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN THE AREA.
1030 PM TSTM WND DMG SOCIAL CIRCLE 33.66N 83.72W
08/29/2005 WALTON GA LAW ENFORCEMENT
POSSIBLE TORNADO IN SOCIAL CIRCLE. 7 TREES DOWN AND POWER
LINES DOWN.
1105 PM TSTM WND DMG WINDER 33.99N 83.72W
08/29/2005 BARROW GA LAW ENFORCEMENT
POSSIBLE TORNADO. ROOF BLOWN OFF KFC AND SOME TREES DOWN.
1125 PM TSTM WND DMG HOSCHTON 34.09N 83.76W
08/29/2005 JACKSON GA EMERGENCY MNGR
SEVERAL TREES DOWN.
1210 AM TSTM WND DMG LULA 34.39N 83.66W
08/30/2005 HALL GA EMERGENCY MNGR
POSSIBLE TORNADO IN LULA AREA. 6 MILE PATH OF TREES DOWN.
SEVERAL HOMES DAMAGED ON HEMLOCK STREET.
1230 AM TSTM WND DMG HELEN 34.70N 83.72W
08/30/2005 WHITE GA LAW ENFORCEMENT
POSSIBLE TORNADO. EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IN HELEN TO A CIRCLE
K, A MOTEL, AND NUMEROUS TREES DOWN.
&&
SNThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, August 2005
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: 5475453, 5475457, 5475456, 5475458, 5475459, 5475460, 5475455, 5475454.