S. A slow moving cold front was approaching the area from the Tennessee Valley.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
A unusually mid-summer broad upper trough was located across the central U.S., with moist and active southwest flow aloft across the southeastern U.S. A slow moving cold front was approaching the area from the Tennessee Valley. Waves of isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms continued, even during the nighttime hours, during the last several days of July and into the first few days of August. One early morning thunderstorm in Carroll county in west central Georgia spawned a lightning-related fire.
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 Jul 30, 2:32 AM EST, 28 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 332 AM EDT THU JUL 30 2009 .SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AS OF 07Z APPROACHING THE GA/AL STATE LINE...ONLY 2-3 HOURS EARLIER THAN YESTERDAY. THE RESPONSIBLE SHORTWAVE WILL CROSS THE LOCAL AREA THIS MORNING. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL STABILIZE SOMEWHAT IN THE WAKE OF THIS MORNINGS CONVECTION...LIMITING PRECIP POTENTIAL EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE WHICH WAS OVER MS/LA AS OF 07Z SHOULD REACH GEORGIA EARLY THIS EVENING...FOLLOWED BY A MORE SIGNIFICANT WAVE CROSSING NORTH/CENTRAL GA FRIDAY MORNING. THE SERIES OF SOUTHWEST FLOW SHORTWAVES CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY. .LONG TERM /SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... STILL NO MAJOR CHANGE TO THE SYNOPTIC SCALE PATTERN THROUGH THE ENTIRE FORECAST PERIOD. LONGWAVE TROUGH AXIS ONLY VERY SLOWLY CREEPS EASTWARD FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES. A STRONG SUBTROPICAL HIGH CONTINUES TO DOMINATE THE ATLANTIC ALONG 30 DEG N FROM AFRICA TO FLORIDA. WARM AND MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW BETWEEN THESE TWO FEATURES WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP OUR AIRMASS RATHER TROPICAL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A SLIGHT SHIFT TO MORE WESTERLY WINDS ALOFT EARLY NEXT WEEK WILL HELP TO SLIGHTLY LESSEN OUR ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE CONTENT. LESS CLOUDS AND PRECIP AND SLIGHTLY WARMER H8 TEMPERATURES SHOULD NUDGE TEMPERATURES UPWARD A FEW DEGREES. RRH && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... ATHENS 88 71 87 70 90 / 60 30 50 30 40 ATLANTA 85 72 85 71 87 / 60 30 60 20 50 BLAIRSVILLE 82 69 80 65 84 / 70 60 70 30 40 CARTERSVILLE 86 72 85 69 88 / 70 50 60 30 50 COLUMBUS 89 74 91 72 91 / 50 20 50 20 50 GAINESVILLE 85 71 82 70 87 / 70 40 60 30 40 MACON 92 72 91 72 92 / 50 20 50 20 50 ROME 87 73 87 70 90 / 70 60 70 30 50 PEACHTREE CITY 86 71 86 69 87 / 60 30 50 20 50 VIDALIA 91 73 92 73 91 / 50 20 50 30 50 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 230 AM EDT THU JUL 30 2009 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-301000- BALDWIN-BANKS-BARROW-BARTOW-BIBB-BLECKLEY-BUTTS-CARROLL-CATOOSA- CHATTAHOOCHEE-CHATTOOGA-CHEROKEE-CLARKE-CLAYTON-COBB-COWETA- CRAWFORD-CRISP-DADE-DAWSON-DEKALB-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- 230 AM EDT THU JUL 30 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA. .DAY ONE...THURSDAY NIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED TONIGHT. .SYNOPSIS... A BROAD UPPER TROUGH WILL REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE U.S. A SERIES OF DISTURBANCE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE BASE OF THE TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK EAST FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TOWARD THE SOUTHEAST FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A MOIST...TROPICAL AIR MASS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE. .PRIMARY HAZARDS... THE PRIMARY HAZARD WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WHICH MAY RESULT IN TEMPORARY FLOODING IN SOME AREAS. OCCASIONAL CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE EXPECTED. .DISCUSSION... A SERIES OF DISTURBANCES WILL CONTINUE TO TRACK ACROSS THE SOUTHERN STATES THROUGH THE BASE OF A DEEP EASTERN U.S. TROUGH. A VERY MOIST...TROPICAL AIR MASS REMAINS IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION...WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES IN EXCESS OF TWO INCHES AND DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER 70S. MARGINAL INSTABILITY AND WEAK SHEAR ARE ALSO IN PLACE. A STRONG DISTURBANCE WAS MOVING EAST THROUGH THE MID-SOUTH EARLY THIS MORNING. AN AREA OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACCOMPANYING THIS SYSTEM WAS SPREADING WILL SPREAD FROM ALABAMA INTO WEST GEORGIA BY 4 AM EDT...THEN CONTINUE ACROSS CENTRAL GEORGIA AND WEAKEN. THESE THUNDERSTORMS WILL PRIMARILY AFFECT AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 20...WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND OCCASIONAL CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING. SOME WINDS GUSTS TO 25 MPH WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND CLOUD-TO-GROUND LIGHTNING WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE MAIN THREATS THROUGH THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. 19
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:57 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
The Times Georgian of Carrollton reported that lightning struck a home on Bear Creek Road during the early morning hours as the family inside was sleeping. The lightning strike caused a fire in the attic, resulting in minor to moderate damage to the structure. No injuries were reported, however.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, July 2009
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: 190772.