Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2015

EF0 tornado, Enterprise, Georgia, November 2, 2015

This EF0 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Miller County on November 2, 2015, touching down at 1:11 PM EST and reaching 50 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $50,000 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
November 2, 2015
Touchdown
1:11 PM EST (18:11 UTC)
Lifted
1:12 PM EST (18:12 UTC)
On the ground
1 minutes
Path length
0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$50,000
County
Miller County
Touchdown point
31.122, -84.839
Lift-off point
31.123, -84.838
Record number
1511021211-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A cold front moved into the tri-state area with heavy rainfall and some severe weather. In southern Georgia, there were 4 EF0 tornadoes confirmed with minor damage reported.

A very brief tornado touched down near Union Church Road southwest Miller county. The tornado heavily damaged a chicken coop, pulled vinyl siding off of a house, displaced a trampoline, and brought down large tree limbs. The tornado was rated EF0 with max winds around 70 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

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

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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Nov 2, 10:38 AM EST, 2 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 2, 10:38 AM EST, 2 hours 33 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1038 AM EST MON NOV 2 2015

.Near Term [Through Today]...

Previous forecast remains on track, no significant changes were
made.

&&

.Aviation...
[Through 12Z Tuesday]... MVFR to IFR conditions are likely today
at all terminals. Best chance of rain at ECP and DHN through this
afternoon.

&&

.Prev Discussion [317 AM EST]...

.Short Term [Tonight Through Wednesday]...
The remnant short wave trough will continue to shear out tonight
leaving weak upper level ridging in its place. The surface low will
also be filling by this evening. All of this will interrupt what
feeble push exists to move the cold front eastward. We expect the
boundary to pull up stationary about half way across the forecast
area overnight and then linger there for a couple of days. This will
require us to maintain PoPs in the forecast through this period with
30-40% east tapering off to 10-20% west in the drier air. While
there should be enough instability around for isolated
thunderstorms, the severe weather threat will be over. Because the
front will not be able to push through, we will only see some modest
drying across our western zones. Most of the area will remain
unseasonably warm and humid.

.Long Term [Wednesday Night Through Monday]...
Energy in a western U.S. trough will be shunted well north of the
area as it moves east over a stubborn ridge that will be parked over
FL through Friday. The next trough to come out of the west will have
a bit more success penetrating into the Southeast and this may allow
another cold front to approach from the northwest this weekend.
There is still below average model consensus this far out, so it
remains to be seen if this frontal progression will occur or gets
delayed. That leaves us with a continuation of unseasonably warm and
humid conditions with daily chances for showers and thunderstorms,
not your typical November pattern to say the least!

.Marine...
The moderately strong onshore flow that has been in place across
the Northeast Gulf over the past couple of days will weaken this
afternoon with our western legs seeing a frontal wind shift to
westerlies. The small craft advisory will be cancelled and
replaced with a caution headline which will itself become
unnecessary later today. Winds will then become established out of
the east for the Wednesday through Friday period as high pressure
sets up north of the waters.

.Fire Weather...
With a moist pattern in place, there are no fire weather concerns.

.Hydrology...
As was discussed in the near term section, a number of favorable
parameters are in place to support flash flooding across the
western portion of the region. The threat is especially high for
Walton, Washington, and Holmes Counties in the Panhandle where
heavy rainfall totals in the last couple of days have the ground
saturated. Storm totals today will likely average in the 2-4 inch
range across the western half of the region with isolated maximum
totals in excess of 6 inches possible.

The flashier creeks and rivers of the Florida Panhandle are
especially vulnerable to flooding with this event. The Shoal River
is already in flood stage, and the tributary creeks of the
Choctawhatchee River are at action stages. Expect river flooding
along the Florida portion of the Choctawhatchee River system in the
days ahead.

Elsewhere, while some modest rises are possible on the Southern
Alabama rivers, the levels are sufficiently low that flood stages
are unlikely to be met.

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...

Tallahassee   85  69  84  70  86 /  40  40  40  20  30
Panama City   81  68  79  70  82 /  80  20  20  20  30
Dothan        81  63  80  65  82 /  90  10  20  20  30
Albany        84  66  80  66  81 /  80  40  40  20  30
Valdosta      88  72  85  69  85 /  30  40  50  30  30
Cross City    88  73  87  70  87 /  30  30  40  30  30
Apalachicola  82  69  81  71  82 /  60  30  30  20  20

&&

.TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...Flash Flood Watch until 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ this evening FOR
     Calhoun-Central Walton-Coastal Bay-Coastal Gulf-Holmes-
     Inland Bay-Inland Gulf-Jackson-North Walton-South Walton-
     Washington.

     High Rip Current Risk through late tonight FOR Coastal Bay-
     Coastal Gulf-South Walton.

GA...Flash Flood Watch until 7 PM EST this evening FOR Baker-Calhoun-
     Clay-Dougherty-Early-Lee-Miller-Quitman-Randolph-Seminole-
     Terrell.

AL...Flash Flood Watch until 6 PM CST this evening FOR Coffee-Dale-
     Geneva-Henry-Houston.

GM...NONE.
&&

NEAR TERM...WESTON
SHORT TERM...WOOL
LONG TERM...WOOL
AVIATION...WESTON
MARINE...WOOL
FIRE WEATHER...GODSEY
HYDROLOGY...GODSEY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 2, 10:12 AM EST, 2 hours 59 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1012 AM EST MON NOV 02 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0930 AM     FLASH FLOOD      2 NNE CLUSTER SPRINGS   30.86N 86.20W
11/02/2015                   WALTON             FL   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            ROAD IS WASHED OUT AT HARRISON RD AND BROWN RD.

&&

EWESTON
Local storm report, Nov 2, 10:29 AM EST, 2 hours 42 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1029 AM EST MON NOV 02 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0345 PM     TORNADO          1 S ELPINO              30.99N 84.23W
11/01/2015  F0               GRADY              GA   BROADCAST MEDIA

            REPORT OF A BRIEF TORNADO NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF PINE
            LEVEL ROAD AND RIDGE ROAD. LAW ENFORCEMENT WITNESSED
            TORNADO. THERE WERE REPORTS OF MULTIPLE TREES BLOWN WITH
            MINOR DAMAGE TO MOBILE HOME ROOF. DAMAGE CONSISTENT WITH
            EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 75 MPH.

0443 PM     TORNADO          WNW HARTSFIELD          31.22N 83.98W
11/01/2015  F0               COLQUITT           GA   BROADCAST MEDIA

            REPORT OF A BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN NEAR HARTSFIELD.
            DAMAGE CONSISTED OF DAMAGE TO THE ROOF OF A HOUSE AS WELL
            AS METAL SIDING RIPPED OFF THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE. DOERUN
            POLICE ALSO REPORTED A FUNNEL CLOUD OCCASIONALLY DROPPING
            AND RISING NEAR THIGPEN TRAIL ROAD. DAMAGE CONSISTENT
            WITH EF0 TORNADO WITH WINDS OF 65 MPH.

&&

CAMP
Local storm report, Nov 2, 12:15 PM EST, 56 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
1215 PM EST MON NOV 02 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1200 PM     TORNADO          3 SSW GILBERTS MILL     30.59N 85.51W
11/02/2015                   WASHINGTON         FL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TORNADO TOUCHDOWN AT RUFUS ROAD AND HARTFORD BLVD.
            ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE ADDED LATER.

&&

EWESTON
Local storm report, Nov 2, 1:00 PM EST, 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TALLAHASSEE FL
100 PM EST MON NOV 02 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1200 PM     TORNADO          4 SSW GILBERTS MILL     30.59N 85.52W
11/02/2015                   WASHINGTON         FL   EMERGENCY MNGR

            STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO A HOME ON SYFRETT RD.

&&

EWESTON

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.

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 12:00Z

6.2 hours before the tornado, 95 km from the path. November 2, 2015.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2015-11-02Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 230 joules per kilogram, CIN -14, lifted condensation level 641 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°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, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2015-11-02The 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 123 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 38 knots.19395878Sfc1 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
230 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-14 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1576 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
641 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
38 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
21 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
123 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
184 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
3.2
0-3 km lapse rate
4.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Bainbridge/Decatur County Indus (BGE), 25 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

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

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 70 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:10 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 2015 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of November 2, 2015

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
November 210:54 AM CSTEF1Washington, FL6.250$75,000
November 212:49 PM ESTEF0Calhoun, GA2.550
November 24:06 PM ESTEF1Telfair, GA1.650$25,000
November 24:32 PM ESTEF1Telfair, GA0.850$25,000

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.