EF3 tornado, Barretts to Lakeland, Georgia, March 3, 2012

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF3

Date

March 3, 2012

Touchdown

12:56 PM EST (17:56 UTC)

Lifted

1:10 PM EST (18:10 UTC)

On the ground

14 minutes

Path length

10.4 miles (16.8 km)

Path width

390 yards (357 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$750,000

Crop damage

$100,000

Counties

Lanier and Lowndes counties

Touchdown point

31.008, -83.252

Lift-off point

31.043, -83.080

Record number

1203031156-01

41 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 140 mph.

• A few trees uprooted along the tree line.
• South end of the roof was ripped off. The red roofing material was found up to 1/4 mile downstream.
• Mobile home completely destroyed with debris blown largely into nearby fencing material. Some debris blown into nearby fields.
• Shed totally destroyed. The trajectory of the debris from the shed crossed the trajectory of the debris from a nearby mobile home.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Several subtle upper level shortwaves affected the area during a three day period between March 1-3 as a broad long-wave upper level trough located west of the area slowly progressed eastward. Subtle surface boundaries were also in the area with a relatively warm, moist and unstable airmass in place. Instability values approached 2000 j/kg with low level shear around 30 knots and deep layer shear around 50 knots. Several tornadoes occurred in the National Weather Service Tallahassee forecast area with numerous instances of straight line wind damage, heavy rain, and localized flooding as well.

An NWS Storm Survey confirmed that an EF2 tornado occurred in Lowndes county, then moved into Lanier county where it strengthened into an EF3 with maximum winds around 140 mph. The path width was estimated to be around 390 yards wide with a path length in Lowndes county of slightly over 4 miles long. In Lowndes county, the tornado likely initially developed along Cat Creek Road. Several reports were received of funnels from this location while the event was ongoing. There was a house near Cat Creek Road that had uprooted trees on the property with one or two impacting the house. Trees were generally blown down to the northeast, although a street sign was bent to the ground facing to the northwest. A few trees were also blown down along a tree line across the road. At that point, the tornado entered a more heavily forested area with no access roads. However, an aerial flyover by emergency management confirmed sporadic tree damage and a continuous damage path in that area. After the tornado cleared this forested area, the damage path began to widen and the tornado damage increased in intensity. Along Arapaho Trail, about a half mile south of Highway 122, the first instance of EF2 damage occurred as a mobile home was completely destroyed with debris blown downstream, mainly into fencing on the property. Also in this location, a shed was completely destroyed, a camper was flipped, part of the roof of a house was removed, and a silo was destroyed with the debris found resting on the opposite side of the house from where it started. Debris from locations along Arapaho Trail were found well downstream, in some cases at least one third of a mile. Along the next cross street - Peters Road - mostly EF1 damage was observed with snapped and uprooted trees and some broken windows in houses. The survey team found a tree sitting on the ground with a root ball at the end, but could not locate the hole or source of the tree within at least several hundred yards. Along Peters Road gouges were observed in the ground as some debris began to impact the ground. As the tornado crossed Bemiss Road (Highway 125) near Walkers Crossing, the damage path began to reach its widest phase. The maximum width of the tornado was estimated to be around 390 yards or 0.22 miles based on the damage survey. Additional EF2 damage was observed on both sides of the road with wooden power poles snapped, hardwood trees snapped or uprooted, and several homes damaged. A second abandoned home was pushed six feet off the concrete foundation. Maximum winds along this part of Bemiss Road were estimated to be around 125 mph based on damage. Also near these homes, there were deep gouges in the ground, including this one that was close to 1 foot deep and 6 feet long. Large debris also continued to be found along the damage path, including strips of metal that were twisted around damaged trees. The tornado then continued east-northeast, crossing Highway 122 near Barber Road into Lanier county. The Lowndes county emergency manager estimated property damage for Lowndes county at around $250,000 with an additional $100,000 in crop damage from fallen pecan trees.

This is a continuation of the tornado that occurred in Lowndes county. This tornado strengthened to EF3 status while in Lanier county with maximum winds estimated around 140 mph. The tornado entered Lanier county along Highway 122 near Barber Road and then impacted a property just north of 122 along Boyette Road. As the tornado approached Boyette Road, it was likely reaching maximum intensity. Radar reflectivity showed a signature known as a debris ball and gave forecasters high confidence that a tornado was in progress, despite an actual tornado not having been reported yet. The damage at the aforementioned location was severe. A mobile home was completely destroyed with debris scattered for hundreds of yards in many directions. This site was originally unrecognizable as a mobile home to the survey team. A few trees at the location were almost totally debarked. A one story residence also had some roof and window damage, a small grain silo was completely destroyed, and a large shed structure was completely destroyed with debris swept well away from the original location. Other things were noted around this location. There were quite a few instances of objects driven into the ground, including metal bars, gutters, branches, and other debris. There was some ground scouring noted, and many of the shrubs were ripped out of their original spots. Large debris was lofted for hundreds of yards including what appeared to be a hatch door from the missing grain silo, a door off of a chest freezer, and a mower and propane tank. The main part of the chest freezer was found across the street. Near the location of the large shed structure that was swept away, an electric meter was ripped out of the ground, and additional deep gouges were found in the ground. The tornado continued to the east-northeast, cutting a clear path through some dense forest in the swampland to the south of Highway 122 and to the west of Banks Lake. Around that time, the damage path began to narrow as the tornado approached the town of Lakeland. Once in Lakeland, the tornado largely caused damage to trees and vegetation, although some structures were impacted. A mobile home was completely destroyed, a nearby full shipping container was rolled about 50 feet, and some debris was driven through metal. Near the end of the tornado path it impacted the hospital in Lakeland, pushing a trailer away from its original location and damaging the ambulance station. Some antennas were also snapped at the hospital, and some damage was reported to the AC units on the roof. Damage in Lanier county was estimated at around $500,000.

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

33 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 17:23 UTC, 33 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 18:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 12:44 UTC and running to 18:04 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:20 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.

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 2012 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

5 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.