Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2005

F0 tornado, Meriwether County, Georgia, July 6, 2005

This F0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Meriwether County on July 6, 2005, touching down at 6:30 PM EDT and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $30,000 of property damage.

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 mphthis tornado

    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 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.

  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
F0
Date
July 6, 2005
Touchdown
6:30 PM EDT (22:30 UTC)
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$30,000
County
Meriwether County
Touchdown point
33.150, -84.680
Lift-off point
33.150, -84.680
Record number
1062

The warnings

44 minutes of warning. NWS FFC issued a tornado warning for this county at 21:46 UTC, 44 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 22:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
21:46 UTC22:30 UTCTornado WarningFFC
22:29 UTC22:52 UTCTornado WarningFFC
23:42 UTC00:00 UTCTornado WarningFFC

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 20:00 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.

Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 12:00Z

10.5 hours before the tornado, 30 km from the path. July 6, 2005.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2005-07-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 198 joules per kilogram, CIN -115, lifted condensation level 1168 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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, Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA at 12:00Z on 2005-07-06The 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 6 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 34 knots.193958Sfc1 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
198 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-115 J/kg
Surface CAPE
22 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
1168 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
34 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
8 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
6 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
18 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
4.1 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Newnan Coweta County Airport (CCO), 20 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
20:40 UTC75.273.40° 0 kt1014.9
21:00 UTC73.473.460° 4 kt1014.6
21:20 UTC73.473.460° 5 kt1013.5
21:40 UTC73.473.460° 5 kt1013.9
22:00 UTC73.473.470° 5 kt1012.5
22:20 UTC73.473.460° 5 kt1012.5
22:40 UTC73.473.4230° 7 kt1013.2
23:20 UTC69.869.880° 6 kt1013.5
23:40 UTC69.869.860° 5 kt1013.2
00:21 UTC66.266.2290° 15 kt221011.9

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

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 22:27 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
21:15 UTCHAIL 0.75HogansvilleTroup, GAFEW LARGE LIMBS DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY
21:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGGlennHeard, GAPOSSIBLE TORNADO
21:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGHamiltonHarris, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN ACROSS THE COUNTY
22:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 N DurandMeriwether, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN. POSSIBLE TORNADO
22:30 UTCTORNADO9 Nne GreenvilleMeriwether, GAA WEAK F0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN 1 MILE SOUTH OF ROCKY MOUNT AND CAUSED MODERATE TREE DAMAGE AND DAMAGED SEVERAL OUTBUILDINGS. TWO HOMES RECEIVED MINOR DAMAGE FROM FALLING TREES. THE DAMAGE PATH WAS 1/4 MILE LONG A
22:37 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Nne StovallMeriwether, GAFEW TREES DOWN ON ROADWAY
22:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGSenoiaCoweta, GAFEW TREES DOWN
23:00 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 E HamiltonHarris, GAMANY TREES DOWN...DAMAGE TO A HOME
23:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGHamiltonHarris, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN
23:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGPeachtree CityFayette, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY
23:38 UTCHAIL 0.881 E Peachtree CityFayette, GADIME TO NICKEL SIZE HAIL
23:46 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 N GreenvilleMeriwether, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN
23:58 UTCFLOODPeachtree CityFayette, GAFLOODING ON HWY 54...NEAR PEACHTREE PARKWAY INTERSECTION...IN FRONT OF CHICK-FIL-A. ROAD UNPASSABLE FOR CARS.
00:15 UTCTSTM WND DMGJonesboroClayton, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY
00:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGPeachtree CityFayette, GAGAS STATION OFF OF HWY 54...NEAR THE PEACHTREE CITY WALMART...REPORTED DAMAGING WINDS THAT RIPPED OFF THE AWNING.
00:37 UTCTSTM WND DMGJonesboroClayton, GASEVERAL TREES AND A FEW POWER LINES DOWN THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY
00:50 UTCFLOODGreenvilleMeriwether, GA911 REPORTED INTERSECTION OF HWT 54 AND FOREST ROAD UNDER TWO TO THREE FEET OF WATER.
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGHollonvilleMeriwether, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN ON PRYER AND RIVER ROAD
01:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGUnion CityFulton, GATREE DOWN...NUMEROUS POWER LINES DOWN SOUTH SIDE OF COUNTY
01:00 UTCTORNADO2 Se FayettevilleFayette, GAAN F0 TORNADO BRIEFLY TOUCHED DOWN IN THE HILO ROAD AREA. NUMEROUS TREES WERE TOPPLED ON HOMES AND VEHICLES. DAMAGE PATH WAS 1/2 MILE LONG AND 100 YARDS WIDE. MOST OF THE TREE DAMAGE WAS DUE TO INFLOW INTO THE BASE OF TH
01:00 UTCTORNADO3 Nnw HaralsonCoweta, GAA TORNADO CAUSED F0 DAMAGE ON OLD NUMBER 85 HIGHWAY. DAMAGE WAS MINOR AND LIMITED TO TREES. THE TORNADO WAS 50 YARDS WIDE AND HAD A PATH OF 100 YARDS.
01:14 UTCFLASH FLOODPeachtree CityFayette, GAFLASH FLOODING IN THE TINSLEY MILL AREA. ONE PERSON MISSING IN FLOODING CREEK WATERS.
01:25 UTCTSTM WND DMGWoolseyFayette, GASEVERAL TREES DOWN
01:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGFayettevilleFayette, GAFEW TREES DOWN
01:30 UTCBLIZZARDFayettevilleFayette, GAFEW TREES DOWN

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 July 6, 2005

28 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
July 64:00 AM CDTF0Mobile, AL0.530$50,000
July 64:53 AM CDTF0Mobile, AL0.530$20,000
July 66:20 AM CDTF0Washington, AL0.530$10,000
July 66:25 AM CDTF0Clarke, AL0.530$10,000
July 66:50 AM CDTF0Escambia, FL1.030$20,000
July 67:11 AM CDTF0Escambia, FL0.530$10,000
July 67:20 AM CDTF0Escambia, AL0.530$10,000
July 610:45 AM CDTF0Covington, AL0.530$10,000
July 610:55 AM CDTF0Okaloosa, FL1.030$10,000
July 610:57 AM CDTF0Covington, AL1.030$10,000
July 61:27 PM CDTF1Autauga, AL0.330$10,000
July 61:36 PM CDTF0Autauga, AL0.225$3,000
July 61:42 PM CDTF0Montgomery, AL7.630$20,000
July 61:55 PM CDTF0Macon, AL5.6150$30,000
July 62:17 PM CDTF0Elmore, AL1.375$40,000
July 62:34 PM CDTF1Macon, AL0.1251$50,000
July 62:56 PM CDTF0Autauga, AL0.225$2,000
July 63:34 PM CDTF0Tallapoosa, AL0.110
July 63:34 PM CDTF0Chambers, AL0.110
July 63:40 PM CDTF0Lee, AL1.2200$30,000
July 65:45 PM ESTF0Kosciusko, IN0.110
July 69:00 PM EDTF0Coweta, GA0.150$1,000
July 69:10 PM EDTF0Fayette, GA1.0440$1.9 million
July 69:45 PM EDTF2Henry, GA9.0880$70 million
July 68:52 PM CDTF0Hartley, TX0.125
July 69:55 PM EDTF0Henry, GA0.5200$150,000
July 610:00 PM EDTF1Henry, GA7.0300$30,000
July 610:04 PM EDTF0Clayton, GA1.0100$1.5 million

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.