Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2014
EF1 tornado, Piedmont to Stewart, Georgia, November 23, 2014
From Piedmont to Stewart, this EF1 tornado ran 21.6 miles across Lamar, Butts and Newton counties on November 23, 2014, touching down at 4:49 PM EST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $32,000 of property damage.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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
- EF1
- Date
- November 23, 2014
- Touchdown
- 4:49 PM EST (21:49 UTC)
- Lifted
- 5:14 PM EST (22:14 UTC)
- On the ground
- 25 minutes
- Path length
- 21.6 miles (34.7 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $32,000
- Counties
- Lamar, Butts and Newton counties
- Touchdown point
- 33.153, -84.113
- Lift-off point
- 33.400, -83.885
- Record number
- 1411231549-01
The damage survey
11 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FFC, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 100 mph.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
What the Weather Service recorded
Moderate instability and strong shear associated with a deepening upper-level trough and surface low produced scattered thunderstorms across portions of Central Georgia. Several severe thunderstorms with damaging winds and several tornadoes occurred in the afternoon and early evening hours along and behind a warm front lifting north across the state.
A NWS storm survey team found that the tornado that touched down in Upson County crossed into Lamar County southwest of Barnesville. The tornado, EF-0 in strength with maximum wind speeds of 85 MPH, tracked northeast nearly 2.5 miles mile before lifting along the Little Potato Creek north of Perdue Road. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were uprooted or snapped along the path of the tornado. [11/23/14: Tornado #5, County #2-2, EF2, Upson-Lamar, 2014:022].
A NWS storm survey team found that an EF-0 tornado, with maximum wind speeds of 82 MPH, touched down in Lamar County south of Milner near old Milner Road and Cannafax Road. The tornado tracked northeast for almost 1.5 miles before lifting near Deerfield Trace. The tornado caused mainly damage to trees with numerous hardwood and softwood trees snapped and uprooted. A metal building on Old Milner Road had roof and wall panels blown off. [11/23/14: Tornado #7, County #1-1, EF0, Lamar, 2014:024].
A NWS storm survey team found that an EF-1 tornado, with maximum wind speeds of 100 MPH, touched down in Lamar County near the intersection of State Highway 36 and High Falls Park Road. The tornado tracked northeast nearly 4.5 miles before crossing into Butts County along Bucksnort Road just west of Interstate Highway 75. The tornado caused mainly damage to trees with numerous hardwood and softwood trees snapped or uprooted. [11/23/14: Tornado #8, County #1-3, EF1, Lamar-Butts-Newton, 2014:025].
A NWS storm survey team found that the EF-1 tornado that touched down in Lamar County crossed into southwest Butts County along Bucksnort Road near Interstate Highway 75. The tornado moved northeast across Butts County for just over 16.5 miles before crossing the South River on the upper reaches of Lake Jackson into Newton County. Maximum wind speeds were around 95 MPH with mainly damage to trees. Numerous hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted. Small outbuildings near the intersection of Cooper Road and State Highway 36 suffered the loss of roof panels. [11/23/14: Tornado #8, County #2-3, EF1, Lamar-Butts-Newton, 2014:025].
A NWS storm survey team found that the EF-1 tornado that touched down in Lamar County and crossed Butts County, crossed the South River on the upper reaches of Lake Jackson into Newton County. The tornado only travelled a little over a half mile northeast into Newton County before lifting near the intersection of State Highway 36 and Parker Road. Maximum wind speeds were around 90 MPH with mainly damage to trees. Several hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted. [11/23/14: Tornado #8, County #3-3, EF1, Lamar-Butts-Newton, 2014:025].
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The surface observations
Spalding (6A2), 26 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 54 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:48 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.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2014 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of November 23, 2014
9 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 23 | 11:35 AM CST | EF0 | Greene, AL | 2.0 | 150 | |||
| November 23 | 2:03 PM CST | EF1 | Stewart, AL to GA | 16.7 | 400 | $25,000 | ||
| November 23 | 3:27 PM EST | EF1 | Stewart, GA | 0.5 | 100 | $5,000 | ||
| November 23 | 3:37 PM EST | EF1 | Chattahoochee, GA | 21.1 | 75 | $33,000 | ||
| November 23 | 4:01 PM EST | EF0 | Talbot, GA | 3.2 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| November 23 | 4:20 PM EST | EF0 | Upson, GA | 11.0 | 200 | $45,000 | ||
| November 23 | 4:40 PM EST | EF0 | Lamar, GA | 1.4 | 70 | $10,000 | ||
| November 23 | 4:40 PM EST | EF1 | Monroe, GA | 20.0 | 70 | $30,000 | ||
| November 23 | 5:10 PM EST | EF1 | Houston, GA | 6.4 | 50 | $55,000 |
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.