EF0 tornado, Cedar Grove to Brewton, Georgia, April 14, 2007

1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

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

2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

6. EF5over 200 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.

Rating

EF0

Date

April 14, 2007

Touchdown

1:50 AM EDT (05:50 UTC)

Lifted

1:58 AM EDT (05:58 UTC)

On the ground

8 minutes

Path length

5.9 miles (9.5 km)

Path width

50 yards (46 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$50,000

County

Laurens County

Touchdown point

32.303, -82.854

Lift-off point

32.370, -82.790

Record number

0704142350-01

The fourth tornado outbreak of the year for the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast area, and the second major tornado outbreak for the year, occurred across the southern portion of the forecast area, or central Georgia. A broad upper trough over the central U.S. was tracking eastward while a surface low deepened rapidly as it moved from northern Mississippi into eastern Virginia. A strong low-level jet accompanied the system with 50-60 knot winds observed at 850mb across central and south Georgia late in the day on the 14th. The low-level jet transported deep Gulf moisture northward into the region. Sunshine during the early part of the day destabilized the region sufficiently to allow for strong to severe supercell thunderstorms to track across central Georgia just south of a warm frontal boundary across north Georgia. Damage surveys confirmed that nine tornadoes tracked across central Georgia, including many of the same areas that were affected during the major tornado outbreak on March 1st. The was the second most significant tornado outbreak to impact the Peachtree City, Georgia forecast area since the August 29, 2005 outbreak associated with Hurricane Katrinia. The state insurance commissioner reported that at least 81 site-built homes, 28 mobile homes, and 10 businesses were damaged or destroyed during the event. Damages to structures alone were near $5 million, with additional damages the result of downed trees and power lines.

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet a second tornado had touched down in southern Laurens county. The tornado occurred almost simultaneously with the first tornado that tracked just south of Dublin. This tornado touched down about 4.0 miles north-northeast of the town of Cedar Grove and tracked east-northeast lifting about 1.5 miles north-northeast of Lowrey in southeast Laurens county. The total path length of the tornado was approximately six miles with a maximum path width of 50 yards. The maximum determined wind speed was 80 mph. Numerous trees were downed along the path of the tornado, which tracked through a mostly forested area. However, a few outbuildings were damaged near Mortan and Rock Springs Road.

An areal and ground damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that yet another tornado struck the eastern and northeast portion of Laurens county. This was the third tornado to touch down in Laurens county within an hour. It is believed that this tornado originated from the same thunderstorm that produced the tornado across central Laurens county a little earlier, which caused three injuries just south of Dublin. This tornado was rated an EF1. The track began approximately five miles southeast of Dublin and tracked northeast to east-northeast across the northeast portion of the county and crossed into Johnson county about eight miles east of Brewton. The tornado then continued well into Johnson county, lifting about five miles southwest of Kite. Fourteen miles of the approximately 19 mile long intermittent tornado path was within Laurens county. The maximum path width was 100 yards. The maximum wind speed in the tornado was estimated to be 100 mph. Several outbuildings along the path of the tornado were either damaged or destroyed, but the most significant structural damage with this tornado occurred in Johnson county. Several trees were blown down along the path of the tornado.

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

9 minutes of warning. NWS FFC issued a tornado warning for this county at 05:41 UTC, 9 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 06:15 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 03:46 UTC and running to 10:00 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:54 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 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.

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 62 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:48 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2007 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

13 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.

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