EF2 tornado, Sawhatchee to Nicholasville, Georgia, January 2, 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 mph

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   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

EF2

Date

January 2, 2017

Touchdown

9:12 PM EST (02:12 UTC)

Lifted

9:19 PM EST (02:19 UTC)

On the ground

7 minutes

Path length

4.3 miles (7.0 km)

Path width

400 yards (366 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$500,000

County

Early County

Touchdown point

31.277, -85.009

Lift-off point

31.305, -84.943

Record number

1701022012-01

Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms affected the region to start the year. Two day rainfall totals in excess of 8 inches were common across portions of the Florida panhandle with several roads flooded. Severe weather, including tornadoes and significant straight line wind damage, also occurred across the tri-state area with most of it in southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia. Albany was particularly hard hit with significant wind damage. There were a total of 5 fatalities across the tri-state area from straight line winds. There was also 1 fatality in Florida due to river flooding.

An EF2 tornado with max winds estimated at 115 mph touched down on Damascus Hilton Road just east of Zion Road and moved NE toward Cedar Springs Road. At the intersection of Cedar Springs Road and Hightower Road, two residences were significantly damaged, with a portion of the roof deck removed. Additionally several farm buildings were damaged or destroyed in the area. The tornado then turned more to the east and eventually lifted when reaching Old Lucile Road. Damage further east on Rock Bluff Road near the intersection of Highway 39 was consistent with straight line wind damage with winds near 80 to 90 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

An EF2 tornado with max winds near 115 mph initially touched down on the Early County side of the Early-Miller County line near Three Notch Road. Damage in this area was mainly limited to trees and a few farm buildings that were destroyed. Damage in this area was generally consistent with EF1 damage. The tornado moved NE toward US-27 near the intersection with Bates Road. A mobile home suffered roof damage and numerous pines were snapped or uprooted on the west side of US-27. The tornado continued northeast and intensified before reaching Middleton Road. Many trees were snapped, with a few debarked in this area. One farm building was completely destroyed in this area. The tornado continued moving to the east-northeast and ultimately lifted near Old Damascus Road where a few trees were snapped and a pivot irrigation system was overturned. Damage cost was estimated.

An EF2 tornado with max winds near 120 mph touched down just west of Highway 45 north of Billy Newberry Road. The tornado lifted just north of Newton Road. There was significant tree damage along with some structural damage along the periphery of the path. Damage was estimated.

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

8 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 02:04 UTC, 8 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 02:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:47 UTC and running to 03:40 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:59 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.

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 02:08 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

38 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.