Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Georgia, September 5, 2011

The Haralson County 911 Center reported that at least half-a-dozen trees were down in the far southeast and east central part of the county near the Carroll county line.

Amateur radio operators relayed a report of a funnel cloud just east of Winston. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data indicated strong rotation in this area at the time. A tornado warning was in effect for the area.

Amateur radio operators relayed a report from a trained spotter of a funnel cloud in extreme western Cobb county from near the Douglas/Cobb county line southwest of Powder Springs to near Due West. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data indicated strong rotation in this area. A tornado warning was in effect for this area at the time. The storm and rotation associated with this funnel cloud continued north-northeast into Cherokee county and eventually produced an EF1 tornado that tracked across much of Cherokee county causing extensive damage across the eastern part of that county.

The Harris County 911 Center reported that three trees were down around Mulberry Grove.

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia and the Cherokee County Emergency Manager confirmed that an EF1 tornado, spawned by strong shear associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee, touched down in southern Cherokee county, just south of the Dixie Speedway, or just west of Woodstock, then tracked north-northeast across eastern Cherokee county before moving into southeastern Pickens county near the city of Nelson. The tornado, with a semi-continuous path nearly 24 miles long across Cherokee county, had a maximum path width of 1/4 mile and maximum wind gusts of 90 mph. The tornado caused extensive damage to homes and business across eastern Cherokee county. The Brookshire and Town Lake Hills South subdivisions sustained much of the structural damage within the county. The Dixie Speedway, just west of Woodstock, suffered extensive damage as well. A number of recreational vehicles and boats were parked at the facility in anticipation of an event. Dozens of these were overturned and destroyed by the tornado. Over 600 single-family homes sustained some form of structural damage, with seven of these homes completely destroyed. One injury was confirmed at one of the heavily damaged homes. A total of 148 homes sustained major damage and 269 sustained minor damage. In addition, six apartment units sustained damage, with three of these classified as having major damage. Twenty commercial businesses were affected by the tornado, three of which were destroyed. Sixteen of these businesses suffered major damage. Finally, three churches sustained damage, two of which suffered major damage. In addition to the structural damage, hundreds of trees were damaged or destroyed by the tornado, many of which subsequently caused damage to adjacent structures and dozens of vehicles.

[09/05/11: Tornado #1, County #1-2, EF1, Cherokee-Pickens, 2011:025].

The Dade County Emergency Management Director reported that several small creeks in the county were overflowing their banks causing portions of adjacent roads to become flooded. One home near Georgia Highway 136 in Trenton became surrounded by flood waters from Sitton Gulch Creek. The residents of this home had to be evacuated by the Trenton Fire Department. Monetary damage was a result of minor damage to the affected home and debris removal.

The Catoosa County Emergency Management Director reported that the Black Branch Creek flooded the parking lot of the Battlewood Apartments in Fort Oglethorpe. Several evacuations were required at the apartment complex as the water level reached the steps of several of the units. Several other small creeks in the county also overflowed their banks. Despite the evacuations, none of the apartment units were actually flooded or incurred any damages. Monetary damage was confined to debris removal.

The Walker County Emergency Management Director reported that several creeks across the northern half of the county were overflowing their banks and flooding the normally flood prone areas of adjacent roadways. Monetary damage was confined to minor debris removal.

The Cobb County 911 Center reported that three to four trees were down in the far northwest part of the county near Acworth. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data indicated strong rotation in the area at this time and a tornado warning was in effect for this part of Cobb county. However, no tornado damage was confirmed from this signature.

The Carroll County Emergency Management Director reported that over six trees were down across the far southeastern part of the county between Clem and Whitesburg. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data suggested that this may have been caused by a tornado. However, there was no confirmation of a tornado in this area. A tornado warning was in effect for this part of the county at the time the damaged occurred.

The Pickens County Emergency Management Director confirmed that the EF1 tornado, which originally touched down in far southern Cherokee county just west of Woodstock and continued on a north-northeastward track across eastern Cherokee county, entered Pickens county at the city of Nelson. Damage in Pickens county remained consistent with an EF1 rating. From here, the tornado continued north-northeast to just past Marble Hill before finally lifting. Within Pickens county the tornado had a path length of approximately five miles with a maximum path width of 220 yards or 1/8 mile. Eleven homes were damaged along the path of the tornado within Pickens county. One of these homes was completely removed from its foundation and destroyed. Four other homes suffered major damage, three with moderate damage, and the remaining three minor damage. The majority of this damage was in the Marble Hill community. In addition, three structures at the Emory Marble Plant in Marble Hill suffered major damage. Dozens of medium to large-sized trees, including several large oak trees, were downed along the path of the tornado. Several roads were completely blocked as a result, including a portion of Georgia Highway 53 between Tate and Marble Hill.

[09/05/11: Tornado #1, County #2-2, EF1, Cherokee-Pickens, 2011:025].

The Muscogee County 911 Center reported that more than half-a-dozen trees and power lines were down across the county, especially in the Columbus area.

The Jones County 911 Center reported that two to three trees and two to three power lines were down in south central and central part of the county from near Postell to just north of James.

A storm spotter observed three to five trees down near Georgia Highway 52 southeast of Cartecay close to the Dawson county line.

The Paulding County Emergency Management Director reported that several trees were down in the Hiram vicinity. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data detected strong rotation in the area at the time and a tornado warning was in effect. However, the damage was not confirmed to have been caused by a tornado.

The public observed a funnel cloud near Buckhead in eastern Morgan county. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data detected two strong rotation areas moving across Morgan county at the time, one which had just moved into Oconee county and another moving up from the southwest between Madison and Buckhead. A tornado warning was in effect for Morgan county at the time.

The Bartow County 911 Center reported that over a dozen trees were down from just south to just west of Cassville in central Bartow county.

The Greene County 911 Center relayed a report from a Georgia Department of Natural Resources Agent of a funnel cloud on Georgia Highway 15 near Ward Road. This was one of three strong rotations detected by the KFFC WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data that moved through the Morgan, Greene, Oconee, and Oglethorpe county region in the 400 pm EDT to 530 pm EDT time frame.

The public observed a funnel cloud near Arnoldsville. WSR-88D storm-relative velocity data showed strong rotation in the area at the time. A tornado warning was in effect for this area at the time.

The Jones County 911 Center reported that two to three trees and two to three power lines were down. WSR-88D velocity and storm-relative velocity data suggested that this occured in the west central and northwest part of the county near Jarrell Plantation and southwest of Round Oak.

The Whitfield County Emergency Management Director reported that a tree was blown over onto a home during a thunderstorm associated with Tropical Storm Lee. The home sustained moderate structural damage as a result.

The Chattooga County Emergency Management Director reported that strong winds associated with the core remnants of Tropical Storm Lee combined with the wet ground brought down dozens of trees across the county.

The Whitfield County Emergency Management Director reported that nearly two dozen trees and several power lines were down across the county as a result of strong winds associated with the core remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

The Floyd County Emergency Management Director reported that several trees and power lines were down in the Texas Valley area located in the northern part of the county. The strong winds were associated with the core remnants of Tropical Storm Lee as it passed just northwest of the region.

The Catoosa County Emergency Management Director reported that several trees were down in the northern part of the county near Ringgold, especially on Crest Drive and Thompson Hill Road just west of Ringgold. The strong winds causing the damage were associated with the core remnants of Tropical Storm Lee as it passed by just northwest of the area.