Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2005

F2 tornado, Dupont, Georgia, December 5, 2005

This F2 tornado ran 3.0 miles across Clinch County on December 5, 2005, touching down at 3:30 PM EST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mphthis tornado

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F2
Date
December 5, 2005
Touchdown
3:30 PM EST (20:30 UTC)
Path length
3.0 miles (4.8 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Clinch County
Touchdown point
30.970, -82.870
Lift-off point
30.970, -82.850
Record number
506

What the Weather Service recorded

A mini-supercell storm over western Clinch county tracked north-northeast roughly along Highway 84. At 310 pm tornado damage was reported near Du Pont. A home was damaged at 2371 Edward Lee Road, which is about 2 miles east of downtown Du Pont. Numerous trees and power lines were also down mainly south of Du Pont along Olive Leaf Road. An NWS Storm Survey the day after the tornado revealed F2 damage. The tornado path was narrow (50 yards), but the circulation damaged several structures near Du Pont including a brick carport and porch. A semi-truck was lifted on top of another semi, and much of a blueberry packaging structure was destroyed. Winds were estimated at 120-150 mph.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

33 minutes of warning. NWS JAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:57 UTC, 33 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 20:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 17:50 UTC and running to 23:04 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
16:00 UTC00:00 UTCLake Wind AdvisoryJAX
17:50 UTC23:04 UTCTornado WatchJAX
19:57 UTC20:45 UTCTornado WarningJAX

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 19:17 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 12:00Z

8.5 hours before the tornado, 123 km from the path. December 5, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 2005-12-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -89403, lifted condensation level 953 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Jacksonville, FL at 12:00Z on 2005-12-05The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 197 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 42 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-89403 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
953 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
197 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
1.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 00:00Z

3.5 hours after it, 123 km from the path. December 6, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2005-12-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 276 joules per kilogram, CIN -5, lifted condensation level 608 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Jacksonville, FL at 00:00Z on 2005-12-06The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 176 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 31 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
276 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-5 J/kg
Surface CAPE
269 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
608 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
31 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
176 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
141 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.2
Supercell composite
0.9
0-3 km lapse rate
5.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Moody Afb/Valdosta (VAD), 32 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
18:36 UTC69.866.2200° 11 kt161012.5-RA BR
18:55 UTC69.866.2200° 12 kt181010.8-RA BR
19:09 UTC6866.2190° 13 kt201012.5RA BR
19:18 UTC6868200° 15 kt201012.5TSRA BR
19:34 UTC6868220° 10 kt1012.5+TSRA FG
19:55 UTC64.464.4230° 10 kt1011.2+RA BR
20:34 UTC62.662.6240° 8 kt161012.5RA BR
20:55 UTC62.662.6250° 7 kt1011.9-RA BR
21:55 UTC62.662.6220° 5 kt1011.9-RA BR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
20:00 UTCTORNADOStocktonLanier, GAFIREMAN REPORTED SEEING A TORNADO CROSSING HWY 84 IN STOCKTON
20:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG15 Sw HomervilleClinch, GANUMEROUS TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN ALONG OLIVE LEAF ROAD JUST SOUTH OF DUPONT.
20:10 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 E Du PontClinch, GAEND OF HOUSE DAMAGED AT 2371 EDWARD LEE RD. POSSIBLE TORNADO. TIME IS APPROXIMATE.
20:10 UTCTORNADO15 Sw HomervilleClinch, GANUMEROUS TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS ALONG OLIVE LEAF ROAD JUST SOUTH OF DUPONT. ALSO ONE HOUSE DAMAGED.
20:10 UTCTORNADODu PontClinch, GAPRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT IN CLINCH COUNTY...F1 WITH SMALL AREA OF F2 DAMAGE NEAR DU PONT. BRICK CARPORT DEMOLISHED.
20:45 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD5 S ManorWare, GAFUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED BY SPOTTER ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTH OF MANOR.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2005 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of December 5, 2005

5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 511:45 AM ESTF1Worth, GA1.1752$750,000
December 51:10 PM ESTF1Wakulla, FL4.0100$1.3 million
December 51:40 PM ESTF0Leon, FL0.230
December 52:45 PM ESTF0Lanier, GA0.230
December 54:30 PM ESTF1Brantley, GA1.575

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.