EF1 tornado, Smarr to Dames Ferry, Georgia, April 3, 2017

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 mphthis tornado

   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

EF1

Date

April 3, 2017

Touchdown

1:06 PM EDT (17:06 UTC)

Lifted

1:22 PM EDT (17:22 UTC)

On the ground

16 minutes

Path length

8.1 miles (13.1 km)

Path width

300 yards (274 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$300,000

County

Monroe County

Touchdown point

32.990, -83.903

Lift-off point

33.032, -83.772

Record number

1704031106-01

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 EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 110 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards touched down west of US Highway 41 near Montpelier Road. The tornado traveled northeast crossing Highway 41 near Old Rumble Road snapping or uprooting numerous trees. The tornado widened as it approached Gose Road west of I-75. More than a hundred trees were |snapped or uprooted in a wooded area west of Gose Road. Along Gose Road, numerous homes sustained roof damage from the wind or from falling trees. The tornado continued northeast crossing I-75 where several trees fell onto cars on the interstate and blocked the highway. The interstate was shut down for several hours due to debris. The tornado continued northeast crossing Lee King Road where it damaged a small garage roof and snapped dozens of trees before crossing Abares Road and Jenkins Road. A couple homes sustained damage in this area due to falling|trees. The tornado began to weaken as it continued northeast crossing Dames Ferry Road then dissipating shortly before entering Lake Juliette. In total, several thousand customers were left without power, 30 homes sustained damage and 1 home was destroyed. A family was trapped in their home along Music Row, however no injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #15, County #1/1, EF-1, Monroe, 2017:047].

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

2 minutes of warning. NWS FFC issued a tornado warning for this county at 17:04 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 17:30 UTC.

The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 14:50 UTC and running to 18:29 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 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 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.

Macon/Lewis Wilson (MCN), 39 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 59 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:08 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 2017 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

39 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.