Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Georgia, January 4, 2015

Name: Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Georgia, January 4, 2015
Start: 2015-01-04T08:39
End: 2015-01-04T11:49
Location: Georgia

January 4, 2015 · NWS TAE · 8 events in 4 counties and zones

A strong upper level trough and cold front moved through the area during the morning and early afternoon hours. A squall line accompanied the front, and a few tornadoes and instances of straight line wind damage were reported.

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: 1
Property damage: $25,000
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 TAE wrote it up.

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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 4, 3:25 AM EST, 5 hours 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 4, 3:25 AM EST, 5 hours 14 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
325 AM EST Sun Jan 4 2015

...Isolated Strong Storms This Morning Southeast Alabama and the
Florida Panhandle...

...Arctic Blast on Tap for the Middle to Latter Work Week...

.Near Term [Through Today]...
A cold front will move through the area during the afternoon/evening
hours. Ahead of the front, expect rain and thunderstorms beginning in
the morning hours for northwestern portions of the CWA. A few
thunderstorms could be strong. Rain totals are expected to stay
below 1 inch with higher amounts possible locally. Cloudy skies and
warm temps are expected ahead of the front. Patchy fog is likely
this morning particularly along the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend.
Highs today will range from upper 60s in the northwest to upper 70s
in the southeast.

.Short Term [Tonight Through Tuesday]...
The cold front will sweep southeast of Dixie County by around 02Z
with some light rain perhaps lingering behind the boundary for a
couple of hours. PoPs will range from 20 along the Flint and
Apalachicola Rivers to 60 over the Lower Suwannee Valley.
Temperatures will be noticeably cooler behind the front. Temps by
daybreak Monday will range from the upper 30s north and west of
Dothan and Albany to the mid 40s in Tallahassee and lower 50s in
Dixie County. Highs will be a couple of degrees below normal ranging
from the mid 50s over Southeast AL to the mid 60s in Dixie. Monday
night will see most inland areas dip into the 30s with a brief light
freeze possible north and west of Dothan and Albany. Frost could
occur as far southeast as Tallahassee. Highs on Tuesday will be 6-9
degrees warmer than on Monday.

.Long Term [Tuesday Night Through Sunday]...
The main story this period will be the frigid air mass that arrives
after the passage of an arctic front Tuesday night and Wednesday
morning. Guidance is coming into better agreement that we will see a
hard freeze across most of our inland counties Wednesday night and
Thursday morning. In addition, wind chill readings could drop into
the lower teens which would prompt advisories. Thursday's high
temps will only range from around 40 degrees north of Albany and
Dothan to the mid 40s near the coast. Another widespread hard freeze
is expected Thursday night. However, with much lighter winds in
place by that time, wind chill readings should drop no lower than
about 20 degrees. It should be noted that some of the operational
MOS is colder than the typical blend we use and a downward
adjustment was once again coordinated with neighboring offices,
mainly for Friday morning. A gradual moderating trend in temps
will occur late in the week with highs on Saturday within a couple
degrees of seasonal levels.

&&

.Aviation...
[Through 12Z Monday] IFR ceilings will continue into the early
morning hours. LIFR ceilings are likely at TLH and ECP. TLH and
ECP have the best chance for fog this morning with patchy fog
elsewhere. Thunderstorms are likely beginning in the morning for
DHN and ECP then progressing eastward into the afternoon. Winds
will become northwesterly once the cold front passes in the
afternoon/evening hours.

&&

.Marine...
Onshore winds may briefly reach cautionary levels today ahead of a
cold front. Winds will shift to the northwest and then north behind
the front and increase to advisory levels late tonight into Monday
morning. Winds will drop below headline criteria by Monday
afternoon. An arctic front will sweep across the waters on
Wednesday with winds surging well above small craft advisory
thresholds with frequent gale-force gusts possible Wednesday night
into Thursday. Winds will drop below headline criteria Thursday
night.

&&

.Fire Weather...
A drier air mass will arrive on Monday in the wake of a cold front.
Minimum relative humidities are expected to remain above Red Flag
criteria for the next few days.

&&

.Hydrology...
All area rivers are now below flood stage. Rainfall through the
weekend will generally be 0.5 to 1 inch. Higher amounts are possible
locally. No significant river flooding is expected with this next
batch of rain.

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...

Tallahassee   74  45  60  35  69 /  80  30   0   0  10
Panama City   72  45  59  43  67 /  90  10   0   0  10
Dothan        68  39  55  35  64 /  90  10   0   0   0
Albany        71  40  58  34  66 /  80  20   0   0   0
Valdosta      76  45  60  38  67 /  80  40   0   0  10
Cross City    78  51  65  41  71 /  70  60   0   0  10
Apalachicola  73  47  60  42  67 /  80  30   0   0  10

&&

.TAE Watches/Warnings/Advisories...

FL...High Rip Current Risk through late tonight for Coastal Bay-
     South Walton.

GA...None.

AL...None.

GM...Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 1 PM EST Monday
     for Coastal waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola
     FL out to 20 NM-Coastal waters from Apalachicola to Destin
     FL out 20 NM-Waters from Suwannee River to Apalachicola FL
     from 20 to 60 NM-Waters from Apalachicola to Destin FL from
     20 to 60 NM.

&&

NEAR TERM...MCDERMOTT
SHORT TERM...WOOL
LONG TERM...WOOL
AVIATION...MCDERMOTT
MARINE...WOOL
FIRE WEATHER...MCDERMOTT
HYDROLOGY...MCDERMOTT/WOOL

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 4, 8:24 AM EST, 15 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
824 AM EST SUN JAN 04 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0810 AM     TSTM WND DMG     HEADLAND                31.35N 85.34W
01/04/2015                   HENRY              AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TREES DOWN ON COUNTY ROAD 99.

&&

WESTON

Local storm report, Jan 4, 8:36 AM EST, 3 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
836 AM EST SUN JAN 04 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0834 AM     TSTM WND DMG     PINCKARD                31.31N 85.55W
01/04/2015                   DALE               AL   BROADCAST MEDIA

            TREES DOWN CLOSE TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT NEAR PINCKARD.

&&

WESTON

Local storm report, Jan 4, 8:37 AM EST, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
837 AM EST SUN JAN 04 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0834 AM     TSTM WND DMG     PINCKARD                31.31N 85.55W
01/04/2015                   DALE               AL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREE AND POWELINES DOWN AT COUNTY ROAD 55 AND COUNTY ROAD
            9.

&&

WESTON

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 13:40 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: January 4, 8:39 AM EST
Where: Clay County, Jones Crossing
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 31.640, -84.970

A tree was blown down across Highway 37.

Thunderstorm Wind, Clay

When: January 4, 8:55 AM EST
Where: Clay County, 2.15 mi NNE of Bellville
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 31.620, -84.880

A large tree was uprooted near Vilulah Church near the Randolph/Clay county line.

Thunderstorm Wind, Mitchell

When: January 4, 10:30 AM EST
Where: Mitchell County, 3.64 mi SE of Mitchell County Arpt
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) estimated gust
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.170, -84.190

Straight line winds caused roof damage to a house and flipped a camper over. One person inside the camper was injured. Monetary damage was estimated.

Thunderstorm Wind, Colquitt

When: January 4, 10:56 AM EST
Where: Colquitt County, 1.37 mi ESE of Poplar Arbor Church
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 31.250, -83.950

Several trees were blown down near Funston Sale City Road and Wilkes Road.

Thunderstorm Wind, Colquitt

When: January 4, 11:05 AM EST
Where: Colquitt County, 1.19 mi NW of Moultrie
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: 911 Call Center
Coordinates: 31.183, -83.793

Power lines were blown down on NW 3rd Street in Moultrie.

Tornado, Tift

When: January 4, 11:27 AM EST to 11:28 AM EST
Where: Tift County, 2.28 mi WNW of Omega to 2.09 mi WNW of Omega
Rating: EF1
Path length: 0.33 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 31.354, -83.625

A brief EF1 tornado touched down. A portion of a screened-in porch was blown down, and a large portion of the roof of a small, old, barn building was removed. There were also some 8-12 inch diameter pine trees snapped at their trunks. Max winds were estimated at 95 mph.

Thunderstorm Wind, Tift

When: January 4, 11:40 AM EST
Where: Tift County, 1.37 mi ENE of Brookfield
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 31.420, -83.370

A pine tree was snapped along Highway 82.

Tornado, Tift

When: January 4, 11:45 AM EST to 11:49 AM EST
Where: Tift County, 0.57 mi NNW of Brookfield to 0.7 mi N of Brookfield
Rating: EF1
Path length: 0.27 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey
Coordinates: 31.417, -83.395

In addition to several downed trees, there was substantial damage to the roof at a church in Brookfield. During their Sunday morning Service, church members quickly took cover under their pews when the wind became loud and their heavy front door was torn apart. The main damage occurred when the steeple fell to the ground. Several shingles were stripped from the roof, and two church storage sheds were destroyed. Miraculously no one was injured. There were several more trees down with this tornado than the first one, including large pine trees (2-3 ft diameter) and large magnolia trees. Max winds were estimated at 100 mph.

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.
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

Every storm in Georgia in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Georgia, 2015 Warnings in Georgia, January 2015

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: 550951, 550952, 550953, 550954, 550955, 550957, 550956, 550959.