Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2005
F0 tornado, Thomson, Georgia, January 13, 2005
This F0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across McDuffie County on January 13, 2005, touching down at 6:15 PM EST and reaching 30 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.
F040 to 72 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
F173 to 112 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
F2113 to 157 mph
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.
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.
F4207 to 260 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- F0
- Date
- January 13, 2005
- Touchdown
- 6:15 PM EST (23:15 UTC)
- Path length
- 0.1 miles (0.2 km)
- Path width
- 30 yards (27 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- McDuffie County
- Touchdown point
- 33.500, -82.420
- Lift-off point
- 33.500, -82.420
- Record number
- 614
What the Weather Service recorded
Storm Survey found an F0 broke trees in half at the intersection of I-20 and White Oak road.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
17 minutes of warning. NWS CAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 22:58 UTC, 17 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 23:30 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22:58 UTC | 23:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | CAE |
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 General Thunderstorms Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:21 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.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Columbia, SC wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Jan 13, 3:07 PM EST, 3 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 13, 3:07 PM EST, 3 hours 8 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 307 PM EST THU JAN 13 2005 .SHORT TERM (TNGT-SAT)... ISOLATED SHOWERS SPREADING ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING HAVE BECOME MORE NUMEROUS PAST FEW HOURS. LINE OF SHOWERS AND A FEW TSRA TO THE WEST CONTINUES TO MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS AL/GA/TN. WILL CONTINUE THE LAKE WIND ADVISORY THRU MIDNIGHT AS WINDS SHOULD INCREASE SOME DURING THE EVENING. MODELS IN AGREEMENT ON PCPN TNGT WITH STRONG UVV...UPPER LEVEL DIVERGENCE AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR CATEGORICAL POPS. GOOD LOW LEVEL SHEAR WILL BE PRESENT OVERNIGHT ALONG WITH FAVORABLE DEEP LAYER SHEAR. STABILITY IS THE LIMITING FACTOR...ISOLATED STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE WITH WIND DAMAGE THE MAIN THREAT LATER TONIGHT INTO THE EARLY MORNING. MIN/MAX TEMPERATURES FRI WILL BE TRICKY WITH COLD FRONT EXPECTED TO BE NEAR CAE AT 12Z FRI. COLD FRONT TO PUSH THROUGH THE AREA LATE TONIGHT EARLY FRI MORNING...4 TO 9 AM. GOOD CAA SPREAD INTO THE AREA LATER TONIGHT AND CONTINUES FRIDAY. TEMPERATURES NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL ARE EXPECTED SAT/SUN AS A DRIER/COLDER AIRMASS DOMINATED THE WEATHER. && .LONG TERM (MON-THU)... THE LATEST 00Z RUN OF THE GFS IS MUCH COLDER THAN THE PREVIOUS 00Z RUN. UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE...STRONGER THAN PREVIOUS RUN...MOVES ACROSS THE AREA LATE MON AND OFFSHORE TUE. WITH UPPER LEVEL FLOW MORE AMPLIFIED COLDER AIR WILL BE PUSHED ACROSS THE AREA. HAVE LOWER MAX AND MIN TEMPS SEVERAL DEGREES. ENSEMBLES INDICATING A LARGE SPREAD IN THE MIN TEMPS ESPECIALLY TUE MORNING...AND WILL NOT GO AS LOW AS MOS AT THIS TIME. LIMITED DEEP LAYER MOISTURE SPEAKS WELL FOR A DRY FORECAST. && .AVIATION... COLD FRONT APPROACHING WILL CAUSE WINDS TO INCREASE FROM THE S TO 15 TO 25 WITH HIGHER GUSTS BKN DECK WILL REMAIN THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AT AROUND 030. CEILINGS WILL LOWER AS PRECIP BECOMES MORE WIDESPREAD AFTER 0300Z TO AROUND 015. ISOL THUNDER IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE FRONT WILL BE AROUND FROM 0000Z TO 1000Z...SOME STORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE. WIND SHEAR AROUND 2K FT INDICATED BY MODELS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH 1000Z. FRONTAL PASSAGE IS EXPECTED AROUND 1000Z-1200Z TIME FRAME. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... COLUMBIA 58 60 34 53 / 100 70 0 0 AUGUSTA 58 61 34 53 / 100 70 0 0 SUMTER 59 61 35 53 / 100 70 0 0 ORANGEBURG 60 63 36 53 / 100 70 0 0 && .CAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SC...LAKE WIND ADVY UNTIL 05Z TONIGHT ALL CAE ZONES. GA...LAKE WIND ADVY UNTIL 05Z TONIGHT ALL CAE ZONES. && 17/25
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 13, 9:50 AM EST, 8 hours 25 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE COLUMBIA SC 950 AM EST THU JAN 13 2005 GAZ040-063>065-077-SCZ015-016-018-020>022-025>031-035>038-041-140955- AIKEN SC-BAMBERG SC-BARNWELL SC-BURKE GA-CALHOUN SC-CHESTERFIELD SC- CLARENDON SC-COLUMBIA GA-EDGEFIELD SC-FAIRFIELD SC-KERSHAW SC- LANCASTER SC-LEE SC-LEXINGTON SC-LINCOLN GA-MCCORMICK SC-MCDUFFIE GA- NEWBERRY SC-ORANGEBURG SC-RICHLAND SC-RICHMOND GA-SALUDA SC- SUMTER SC- 950 AM EST THU JAN 13 2005 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE MIDLANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINA AND THE CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA OF GEORGIA. .DAY ONE... A LAKE WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FROM NOON UNTIL MIDNIGHT. WIND S15 TO 25 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED OVER AREA LAKES TODAY WITH POSSIBLE HIGHER GUSTS. THERE IS ALSO A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS IN THE SOUTH MIDLANDS AND CENTRAL SAVANNAH RIVER AREA TONIGHT...WIND GUSTS IN EXCESS OF 65 MPH IS THE MAIN THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED TONIGHT IN THE SOUTH MIDLANDS AND AUGUSTA AREA.
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.
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 12:00Z
11.3 hours before the tornado, 194 km from the path. January 13, 2005.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -8 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 444 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 50 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 36 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 325 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 344 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.8 K/km
The surface observations
Thomson (HQU), 10 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21:20 UTC | 73.4 | 71.6 | 180° 3 kt | 1013.5 | ||
| 21:40 UTC | 73.4 | 71.6 | 160° 5 kt | 1013.2 | ||
| 22:00 UTC | 73.4 | 69.8 | 170° 7 kt | 1013.2 | ||
| 22:20 UTC | 73.4 | 69.8 | 160° 7 kt | 1012.9 | ||
| 22:40 UTC | 73.4 | 68 | 170° 8 kt | 1012.5 | ||
| 23:00 UTC | 73.4 | 69.8 | 170° 8 kt | 1012.9 | ||
| 23:20 UTC | 71.6 | 69.8 | 180° 8 kt | 16 | 1012.5 | |
| 23:40 UTC | 69.8 | 69.8 | 160° 6 kt | 1012.5 | ||
| 00:00 UTC | 73.4 | 71.6 | 180° 6 kt | 1012.9 | ||
| 00:20 UTC | 73.4 | 71.6 | 150° 10 kt | 15 | 1012.5 | |
| 00:40 UTC | 73.4 | 71.6 | 160° 8 kt | 20 | 1012.5 | |
| 01:00 UTC | 73.4 | 71.6 | 150° 12 kt | 17 | 1012.2 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
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 January 13, 2005
9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 13 | 3:05 AM CST | F1 | Pulaski, IL | 11.0 | 100 | $70,000 | ||
| January 13 | 7:07 AM CST | F1 | Monroe, MS | 0.4 | 40 | $50,000 | ||
| January 13 | 8:35 AM CST | F0 | Pearl River, MS | 0.1 | 20 | $10,000 | ||
| January 13 | 5:58 PM EST | F1 | Calhoun, GA | 3.0 | 100 | 2 | 5 | $260,000 |
| January 13 | 6:37 PM EST | F0 | Columbia, GA | 0.2 | 40 | |||
| January 13 | 6:40 PM EST | F0 | Lincoln, GA | 0.1 | 30 | |||
| January 13 | 6:52 PM EST | F0 | McCormick, SC | 0.2 | 40 | |||
| January 13 | 7:13 PM EST | F2 | Laurens, SC | 12.0 | 350 | 1 | $2.0 million | |
| January 13 | 7:46 PM EST | F0 | Newberry, SC | 11.0 | 40 |
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.