EF1 tornado, Byron to Elberta, 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

1:30 PM EDT (17:30 UTC)

Lifted

1:45 PM EDT (17:45 UTC)

On the ground

15 minutes

Path length

9.2 miles (14.9 km)

Path width

600 yards (549 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$175,000

Counties

Peach and Houston counties

Touchdown point

32.658, -83.766

Lift-off point

32.654, -83.608

Record number

1704031130-01

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 93 MPH and a maximum path width of 600 yards touched down in west Byron. The tornado moved east, crossing I-75 and travelling east along Dunbar Road before crossing US Highway 41 into Houston County. The primary damage along this path was snapped or uprooted trees. A few of these trees struck homes causing damage. No injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #16, County #1/2, EF-1, Peach, Houston, 2017:048].

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum wind speeds of 93 MPH and a maximum path width of 600 yards moved east into Houston County from Peach County. The tornado entered the county along US Highway 41 at the intersection with Dunbar Road. The tornado continued eastward across northern sections of Centerville and Warner Robins before ending just east of Highway 129 near the northern end of Robins AFB. The primary damage along this path was snapped or uprooted trees. A few of these trees struck homes causing damage. No injuries were reported. [04/03/17: Tornado #16, County #2/2, EF-1, Peach, Houston, 2017:048].

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

8 minutes of warning. NWS FFC issued a tornado warning for this county at 17:22 UTC, 8 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 17:45 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), 5 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), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 17:32 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.