EF1 tornado, Ellerbeetown to Delray, Georgia, January 21, 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

January 21, 2017

Touchdown

11:39 AM EST (16:39 UTC)

Lifted

11:41 AM EST (16:41 UTC)

On the ground

2 minutes

Path length

1.9 miles (3.0 km)

Path width

175 yards (160 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$20,000

County

Upson County

Touchdown point

32.950, -84.313

Lift-off point

32.977, -84.311

Record number

1701211039-01

84 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FFC, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 107 mph.

• hundreds of trees snapped or uprooted in the river valley.
• EM Reported small shed destroyed behind house. Numerous trees snapped in the field adjacent. Witness saw the tornado moving across the field.
• Several Trees snapped and uprooted
• Damage to roof on house off Roland Road

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

Throughout the weekend of the 21st and 22nd, persistent southwesterly upper-level flow brought a series of strong short waves across the region. The atmosphere over central Georgia was unseasonably warm and unstable with strong low and mid-level shear. The first short wave generated a wave of severe thunderstorms across central and south Georgia through the morning and into the afternoon of the 21st that produced numerous tornadoes. Twenty three tornadoes were confirmed in the WFO Peachtree City warning area with 27 total tornadoes confirmed in the state of Georgia, both records for the number of tornadoes in a single day. A second, stronger short wave swept through during the late morning and afternoon of the 22nd bringing another round of severe weather to central and south Georgia. Additional tornadoes confirmed brought the 2-day total to 27 for the WFO Peachtree City warning area and 41 for the state of Georgia, both a record number for a 2 day period.

A National Weather Service survey team found that the EF1 tornado that began in Talbot County moved into Upson County with maximum winds of 105 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards. The tornado crossed the Flint River into Upson County in the Sprewell Bluff State Park where it snapped and uprooted trees and overturned a small outbuilding. At this point the tornado, which had been moving northeast, turned more easterly crossing Double Bridges Road, where at least 3 dozen trees were downed across the roadway, before crossing Roland Road north of Highway 36 downing more trees and damaging the roof a home. Further east the tornado crossed Hollman Drive and Sunnyside Road where it crossed the path of another tornado that had passed just minutes before. The tornado ended near Highway 36 just northeast of Roland. This tornado followed a path nearly 10 miles long across Talbot and Upson Counties. [01/21/17: Tornado #4, County #2/2, EF1, Talbot-Upson, 2017:005].

A National Weather Service survey team found that the EF2 tornado with maximum winds of 115 MPH and a maximum path width of 300 yards which began in Talbot County just east of Highway 36 near the Flint River and moved north-northeast into Upson County near the Riverbend Restaurant along Riverbend Road snapping trees and power lines. The tornado continued north-northeast along Highway 36 crossing Roland Road continuing to down trees and power lines. As the path of the tornado reached the Sunnyside Road and Holman Road area several homes sustained severe roof damage. A second tornado crossed the path of this tornado in this vicinity just minutes later. The path continued north-northeast along Sunnyside Road causing damage to the roofs of several homes before crossing Crest Highway and Pickard Road and downing numerous additional trees before ending in the vicinity of Old Alabama Road. [1/21/17: Tornado #6, County #2/2, EF1, Talbot-Upson, 2017:007].

A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 95 MPH and a maximum path width of 200 yards began in western Upson County near Roland Road south of Highway 36. In this area numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, power lines were downed and a home sustained significant roof damage. The tornado moved northeast Crossing Reid Place Road and snapping or uprooting more trees. Just before crossing Highway 36 near the intersection with Goshen Road the tornado blew the porch off of a house and continued to down trees and power lines as it moved into the western side of Thomaston. More trees and power lines were downed across western parts of Thomaston along Peachbelt Road and in the Highway 74 and West Main Street areas where the tornado ended. [01/21/17: Tornado #7, County #1/1, EF1, Upson, 2017:008].

A National Weather Service survey team found that a brief EF0 tornado with maximum winds of 75 MPH and a maximum path width of 100 yards began in northern Upson County along Baker Britt Road southwest of Hannahs Mill. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted as the tornado moved northwest for less than a mile before ending along Basin Creek northeast of Kings Mountain. [01/21/17: Tornado #8, County #1/1, EF0, Upson, 2017:009].

A National Weather Service survey team found that a brief EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 100 MPH and a maximum path width of 175 yards began in northern Upson County near Del Ray Road northeast of Hannahs Mill. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted as the tornado moved north close to two miles before ending along Jug Town Road. [01/21/17: Tornado #9, County #1/1, EF1, Upson, 2017:010].

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

29 minutes of warning. NWS FFC issued a tornado warning for this county at 16:10 UTC, 29 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 16:42 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 14:04 UTC and running to 18:58 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 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 16:27 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 Atlanta radar (KFFC), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:41 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

59 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.