Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2017
EF0 tornado, Round Oak to Ethridge, Georgia, April 3, 2017
From Round Oak to Ethridge, this EF0 tornado ran 2.9 miles across Jones County on April 3, 2017, touching down at 1:40 PM EDT and reaching 100 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.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
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
- EF0
- Date
- April 3, 2017
- Touchdown
- 1:40 PM EDT (17:40 UTC)
- Lifted
- 1:46 PM EDT (17:46 UTC)
- On the ground
- 6 minutes
- Path length
- 2.9 miles (4.7 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $50,000
- County
- Jones County
- Touchdown point
- 33.146, -83.605
- Lift-off point
- 33.154, -83.555
- Record number
- 1704031140-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A strong short wave and associated surface low swept through the southern and eastern U.S. and combined with moderate instability and strong shear resulted in widespread severe weather, including numerous tornadoes, across north and central Georgia from late morning through the afternoon.
A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF0 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 70 MPH and a maximum path width of 100 yards touched down west of Hadaway Road in Jones County. The tornado traveled east crossing Hadaway Road, Hillsboro Lake Road, Hadaway Road a second time and then Hadaway Road once again south of Dumas Road before ending. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted along the path. Minor structural damage occurred to one home on Hillsboro Lake Road when a tree was uprooted next to the home. No injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #17, County #1/1, EF-0, Jones, 2017:049].
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 14:50 UTC and running to 18:29 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:50 UTC | 18:29 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | FFC |
| 17:04 UTC | 17:30 UTC | Tornado Warning | FFC |
| 17:32 UTC | 18:00 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC |
| 17:41 UTC | 18:05 UTC | Tornado Warning | FFC |
| 18:03 UTC | 18:34 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | FFC |
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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:21 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
5.7 hours before the tornado, 89 km from the path. April 3, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 26 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -350 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 106 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 987 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 59 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 31 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 317 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 392 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.6 K/km
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 00:00Z
6.3 hours after it, 89 km from the path. April 4, 2017.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -78098 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 55 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 885 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 63 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 380 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 349 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.7 K/km
The radar
The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 57 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:38 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) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:25 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Nw Sparta | Hancock, GA | TREES DOWN AT HUNTS CHAPEL RD AND HWY 16 WEST |
| 15:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sparta | Hancock, GA | A FEW TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN. |
| 15:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Sparta | Hancock, GA | TREES DOWN IN DOWNTOWN SPARTA |
| 16:23 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mansfield | Newton, GA | MULTIPLE STRUCTURES WITH DAMAGE AND PARTIAL BUILDING COLLAPSE REPORTED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF COUNTY ROAD 213 AND 11 |
| 16:49 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Sse Locust Grove | Henry, GA | EM REPORTS 40-50 TREES DOWN AND MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO HOMES BETWEEN BONAVENTURE PLACE AND JALEY PKWY. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 16:51 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Yatesville | Upson, GA | MULTIPLE TREES DOWN ALONG PLEASANT GROVE ROAD SOUTH OF YATESVILLE |
| 16:51 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ssw Blacksville | Henry, GA | TREES SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. |
| 16:52 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Ene Steeles Mill | Henry, GA | THIS WAS AN EF0 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 1.8 MILES WITH A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 250 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 85 MPH. THIS TORNADO CAUSED MINOR SHINGLE DAMAGE TO A HOME OFF JAYLEY PARKWAY AND CAUSED A TREE |
| 16:54 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Culloden | Monroe, GA | TREES REPORTED DOWN ON HOMES ON NORWOOD STREET AND COLLEGE STREET |
| 16:56 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sw Redbone | Lamar, GA | TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF WILLIS ROAD AND HIGHWAY 341. |
| 17:00 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Culloden | Monroe, GA | HIGHWAY 74 EAST OF CULLODEN... SEVERAL PIECES OF A TIN ROOF FOLDED BACK. DAMAGE TO THE SLIDING DOOR OF A GARAGE SHOP. |
| 17:06 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Wnw Smarr | Monroe, GA | THIS WAS A HIGH END EF1 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 8.3 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 300 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 110 MPH. THIS TORNADO DAMAGED 30 HOMES. NINE OF THESE HOMES HAD MAJOR DAMAGE AND ONE WAS |
| 17:08 UTC | TORNADO | Gordon | Wilkinson, GA | SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE REPORTED IN A TWO BLOCK PATH IN GORDON |
| 17:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Culloden | Monroe, GA | A LARGE TREE WAS REPORTED ACROSS HIGHWAY 341 NORTH AT THE CRAWFORD COUNTY AND MONROE COUNTY LINE. |
| 17:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Star Mills | Monroe, GA | TREES FELL ON CARS ALONG I-75 SOUTH OF FORSYTH. INJURIES REPORTED BUT NUMBER IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN |
| 17:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Smarr | Monroe, GA | TREES REPORTED DOWN ON HOME NEAR MUSIC ROW. |
| 17:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Meadowood Subdivisi | Newton, GA | MULTIPLE TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 213 BETWEEN THE INTERSECTIONS OF DIXIE ROAD AND HAYSTON ROAD. |
| 17:16 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Ne Smarr | Monroe, GA | AS MANY AS 30 HOMES WITH DAMAGE IN MONROE COUNTY..9 MAJOR AND 1 DESTROYED. 1 FAMILY WAS TRAPPED BUT NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED |
| 17:21 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Mansfield | Newton, GA | HEAVY DAMAGE OCCURED TO HAYS TRACTOR AND EQUIPMENT INC. POWER LINES WERE ALSO REPORTED DOWN AT THE CAR LOT AND AT CITY HALL. |
| 17:40 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Se Hillsboro | Jones, GA | THIS WAS AN EF0 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 100 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 70 MPH. THIS TORNADO UPROOTED A TREE THAT CAUSED MINOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO A HOME. IT ALSO UPROOTE |
| 17:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nw Round Oak | Jones, GA | A TREE WAS REPORTED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 11 AND ROUND OAK JULIETTE ROAD. |
| 17:42 UTC | TORNADO | Echo Glen | Houston, GA | TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN ON SCARSBOROUGH ROAD AS WELL AS NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF DUNBAR ROAD AND CARL VINSON PARKWAY. A TREE WAS ALSO REPORTED DOWN ON AN APARTMENT UNIT ON CARL VINSON PARKWAY. |
| 17:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Sse Richardson Estate | Bibb, GA | SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT OF A HOME WITH REALLY BAD DAMAGE NEAR THE MIDDLE GA REGIONAL AIRPORT |
| 17:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wsw Antebellum Platea | Houston, GA | LITE STRUCTURE DAMAGE WAS REPORTED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 41 AND DUNBAR ROAD... NEAR THE HOUSTON AND PEACH COUNTY LINE. |
| 17:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Wnw Robins Air Force | Houston, GA | A LARGE TREE LIMB WAS REPORTED ON A HOUES NEAR 13 GREEN STREET. |
| 17:51 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W James | Jones, GA | A TREE WAS REPORTED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF FAWN COURT AND BUCK ROAD. |
| 17:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Ethridge | Jones, GA | MULTIPLE TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 129 AND MATHIS ROAD. |
| 17:56 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sse Huber | Twiggs, GA | THIS TORNADO WAS AN EF1 WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 6. 3 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 440 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 93 MPH. THIS TORNADO SNAPPED AND UPROOTED NUMEROUS HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD TREES. |
| 18:00 UTC | TORNADO | 1 W Marion | Twiggs, GA | TREES DOWN ON I16 EB ON RAMP AT EXIT 18. RADAR CONFIRMS TORNADO PASSED DIRECTLY OVER THE LOCATION. |
| 18:03 UTC | TORNADO | 2 W Massey Hill | Wilkinson, GA | THIS TORNADO WAS AN EF2 WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3.3 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 193 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 115 MPH. SEVERAL SMALL BUSINESS STRUCTURES WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED AND LARGE TREES WITHIN A LOCAL C |
| 18:09 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Wnw Jeffersonville | Twiggs, GA | NUMEROUS TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTIONS OF BULLARD RD AND HIGHWAY 96 AND US 80. |
| 18:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Gordon | Wilkinson, GA | SEVERE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED TO THE FAMILY DOLLAR STORE IN DOWNTOWN GORDON. |
| 18:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Gordon | Wilkinson, GA | SEVERE STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS REPORTED TO THE OLD CHEVROLET BUILDING IN DOWNTOWN GORDON. |
| 18:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Jeffersonville | Twiggs, GA | NUMEROUS TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN NEAR THE INTERSECTIONS OF BULLARD ROAD AND HIGHWAY 80 AND HIGHWAY 96. |
| 18:16 UTC | TORNADO | 3 N Dedrich | Wilkinson, GA | THIS WAS AN EF0 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 4.5 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF AROUND .5 MILES. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 84 MPH. THIS TORNADO CAUSED ROOF DAMAGE TO A RESIDENCE AT THE INTERSECTION OF NAPIER POND W |
| 18:21 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Sw Howell Grove | Hancock, GA | THIS WAS AN EF0 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 3.2 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 524 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 80 MPH. THIS TORNADO DESTROYED A SMALL SHED AND UPROOTED AND SNAPPED NUMEROUS TREES. |
| 18:25 UTC | TORNADO | 2 Wnw Shoulderbone | Hancock, GA | WEBEOC REPORT OF TREES DOWN BLOCKING SR16 AT GREEN SPRING RD. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 18:36 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Wnw Ennis | Washington, GA | THIS WAS AN EF1 TORNADO WITH A PATH LENGTH OF 6.1 MILES AND A MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH OF 688 YARDS. THE ESTIMATED PEAK WIND WAS 95 MPH. THIS TORNADO CAUSED ROOF DAMAGE TO A CHURCH AND CEMETARY AND MINOR ROOF DAMAGE TO A HOME |
| 18:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Wsw Friendship | Baldwin, GA | POWER LINES WERE REPORTED DOWN IN THE AREA OF 117-140 J M WALKER ROAD. |
| 18:37 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Wnw Hebron | Washington, GA | MULTIPLE TREES WERE REPORTED DOWN ON HIGHWAY 272 OFF OF HIGHWAY 24 WEST. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2017 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 3, 2017
39 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 3 | 4:02 AM CDT | EF1 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 2.5 | 75 | |||
| April 3 | 4:12 AM CDT | EF1 | Saint Tammany Parish, LA | 7.3 | 100 | |||
| April 3 | 8:54 AM CDT | EF0 | Crenshaw, AL | 0.1 | 25 | $2,000 | ||
| April 3 | 10:58 AM EDT | EF1 | Carroll, GA | 2.4 | 300 | $50,000 | ||
| April 3 | 11:28 AM EDT | EF1 | Fulton, GA | 4.1 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| April 3 | 11:42 AM EDT | EF1 | Muscogee, GA | 3.3 | 175 | $100,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:10 PM EDT | EF0 | Stewart, GA | 1.6 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:16 PM EDT | EF0 | Stewart, GA | 1.4 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:17 PM EDT | EF1 | Lumpkin, GA | 4.6 | 350 | $75,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:18 PM EDT | EF0 | Talbot, GA | 2.2 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:26 PM EDT | EF1 | Talbot, GA | 3.6 | 200 | $50,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:29 PM EDT | EF0 | Webster, GA | 3.9 | 150 | $15,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:35 PM EDT | EF0 | Spalding, GA | 0.6 | 150 | $50,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:36 PM EDT | EF0 | Upson, GA | 1.7 | 75 | $30,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:44 PM EDT | EF1 | Upson, GA | 6.7 | 150 | $20,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:46 PM EDT | EF1 | Schley, GA | 5.5 | 200 | $500,000 | ||
| April 3 | 12:52 PM EDT | EF0 | Henry, GA | 1.8 | 250 | $50,000 | ||
| April 3 | 1:06 PM EDT | EF1 | Monroe, GA | 8.1 | 300 | $300,000 | ||
| April 3 | 1:30 PM EDT | EF1 | Peach, GA | 9.2 | 600 | $175,000 | ||
| April 3 | 1:51 PM EDT | EF0 | Pickens, SC | 0.1 | 40 | |||
| April 3 | 1:56 PM EDT | EF1 | Twiggs, GA | 5.8 | 440 | $30,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:03 PM EDT | EF2 | Wilkinson, GA | 3.3 | 200 | $100,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:06 PM EDT | EF1 | Twiggs, GA | 7.9 | 350 | $170,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:10 PM EDT | EF0 | Worth, GA | 0.0 | 10 | |||
| April 3 | 2:13 PM EDT | EF0 | Greenville, SC | 2.8 | 50 | $50,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:16 PM EDT | EF0 | Wilkinson, GA | 4.1 | 90 | $25,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:21 PM EDT | EF0 | Hancock, GA | 3.3 | 200 | $20,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:26 PM EDT | EF0 | Wilkinson, GA | 6.6 | 150 | $30,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:28 PM EDT | EF0 | Wilkinson, GA | 0.2 | 100 | $30,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:36 PM EDT | EF1 | Washington, GA | 5.7 | 250 | $30,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:49 PM EDT | EF0 | Laurens, SC | 0.7 | 75 | $20,000 | ||
| April 3 | 2:56 PM EDT | EF0 | Washington, GA | 0.4 | 150 | $10,000 | ||
| April 3 | 3:00 PM EDT | EF1 | Washington, GA | 7.5 | 300 | $75,000 | ||
| April 3 | 3:21 PM EDT | EF1 | Union, SC | 0.7 | 150 | 1 | $50,000 | |
| April 3 | 3:30 PM EDT | EF0 | Union, SC | 0.0 | 50 | |||
| April 3 | 4:08 PM EDT | EF0 | Aiken, SC | 0.1 | 25 | |||
| April 3 | 4:14 PM EDT | EF1 | Aiken, SC | 0.9 | 100 | |||
| April 3 | 4:43 PM EDT | EF0 | Hampton, SC | 0.3 | 240 | |||
| April 3 | 5:11 PM EDT | EF2 | Calhoun, SC | 6.7 | 600 |
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.