Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, October 13, 2011

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, October 13, 2011
Start: 2011-10-13T12:46
End: 2011-10-13T17:47
Location: Georgia

October 13, 2011 · NWS FFC · 8 events in 6 counties and zones

S. with an associated strong cold front.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $73,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 FFC wrote it up.

A sharply negatively tilted trough was rotating through the mid-south and southeast U.S. with an associated strong cold front. The air mass across the southeast in advance of the front was only marginally unstable and modestly moist, but the air mass behind the front was noticeably cooler. However, the strong dynamics associated with the upper trough overcame the rather meager thermodynamic environment resulting in scattered bands of severe thunderstorms that tracked across mainly central Georgia during the afternoon.

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 Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 13, 6:27 AM EST, 6 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 13, 6:27 AM EST, 6 hours 19 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Oct 13, 3:19 AM EST, 9 hours 27 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
419 AM EDT THU OCT 13 2011

GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
089>098-102>113-141100-
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-
419 AM EDT THU OCT 13 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE OVER NORTH AND CENTRAL
GEORGIA FROM LATE MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING.

.SYNOPSIS...
A COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH NORTH GEORGIA THIS AFTERNOON...THEN
MOVE ACROSS THE AREA DURING THE EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN
TO BUILD LATE TONIGHT.

.PRIMARY HAZARDS...
THE PRIMARY HAZARDS WITH ANY SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE QUARTER-
SIZE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING CAN ALSO BE
EXPECTED. THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE FROM
LATE MORNING INTO EARLY EVENING ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA.

.DISCUSSION...
A STRONG UPPER TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
AREA THIS EVENING. AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT...MOST UNSTABLE
CAPES WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 1000 DURING THE AFTERNOON. THIS COUPLED
WITH VERY COLD TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL BRING A POTENTIAL FOR ISOLATED
STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND
EARLY EVENING HOURS. THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM THREAT WILL GREATLY
DIMINISH ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA BY 9 PM...AND CENTRAL GEORGIA BY
MIDNIGHT AS THE FRONT PUSHES EAST AND SOUTH OF THE AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
WINDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY MAINLY ACROSS
NORTH GEORGIA. OTHERWISE...NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS
TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED THROUGH TONIGHT.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Harris

When: October 13, 12:46 PM EST to 12:58 PM EST
Where: Harris County, 6 mi WNW of Mountain Hill to Waverly Hall
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 32.753, -85.115

The Harris County 911 Center reported that over a dozen trees and several power lines were down across the southern one-half of the county, roughly from Mountain Hill to just Waverly Hall and southward. Two homes sustained minor to moderate damage from downed trees. Trees were down along Georgia Highways 219 and 103 south of Hamilton. Several other local or county roads were blocked by downed trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Glascock

When: October 13, 3:43 PM EST to 3:59 PM EST
Where: Glascock County, Agricola to Bastonville
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 33.200, -82.730

The Glascock County Emergency Management Director reported that up to 15 large trees were down across the county, including one which fell on and took out a power line.

Thunderstorm Wind, Crisp

When: October 13, 4:04 PM EST to 4:08 PM EST
Where: Crisp County, 3 mi WNW of Arabi to 5 mi ENE of Arabi
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 31.847, -83.797

The Crisp County Emergency Management Director reported that a number of trees were down across the southern part of the county near the Turner County line from west to east of Arabi.

Hail, Crisp

When: October 13, 4:04 PM EST to 4:10 PM EST
Where: Crisp County, 4 mi NW of Arabi to 4 mi NE of Arabi
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 31.871, -83.798

The public observed quarter-sized hail at the Plantation House, approximately four miles east-northeast of Arabi. The Crisp County Emergency Management Director reported penny-sized hail approximately four miles northwest of Arabi, near the intersection of U.S. Highway 41 and Georgia Highway 33.

Thunderstorm Wind, Wilcox

When: October 13, 4:21 PM EST to 4:25 PM EST
Where: Wilcox County, Double Run to Rochelle
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 31.850, -83.570

The Wilcox County Emergency Management Director reported that up to eight trees were down near Rochelle, with a couple causing minor damage to homes.

Thunderstorm Wind, Telfair

When: October 13, 5:05 PM EST to 5:07 PM EST
Where: Telfair County, 1 mi WNW of Mc Rae to 0.5 mi ENE of Mc Rae
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 32.075, -82.916

An amatuer radio operator measured a wind gust of 60 mph on a home weather station just west-northwest of McRae.

Hail, Telfair

When: October 13, 5:05 PM EST to 5:07 PM EST
Where: Telfair County, 1 mi WNW of Mc Rae to 0.5 mi ENE of Mc Rae
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Amateur Radio
Coordinates: 32.075, -82.916

An amateur radio operator observed quarter-sized hail just west-northwest of McRae.

Hail, Montgomery

When: October 13, 5:44 PM EST to 5:47 PM EST
Where: Montgomery County, 1.5 mi SW of Uvalda to 0.25 mi E of Uvalda
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 32.015, -82.518

The public observed quarter-sized hail at the Dollar General Store in Uvalda.

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, October 2011

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: 351495, 352465, 352460, 352461, 352466, 352462, 352463, 352464.