Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2019
EF0 tornado, Silco, Georgia, April 19, 2019
This EF0 tornado ran 0.4 miles across Camden County on April 19, 2019, touching down at 12:05 PM EDT and reaching 10 yards wide. It killed nobody.
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 19, 2019
- Touchdown
- 12:05 PM EDT (16:05 UTC)
- Lifted
- 12:06 PM EDT (16:06 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.4 miles (0.7 km)
- Path width
- 10 yards (9 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Camden County
- Touchdown point
- 30.837, -81.893
- Lift-off point
- 30.837, -81.886
- Record number
- 1904191005-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A very strong pre-frontal squall line raced across the local area which caused widespread winds damage. The environment had high bulk shear, elevated low level instability that nosed inland along a theta-E ridge axis from the GOMEX, a strong SSW low level jet, overridden by a strong mid level lobe of PVA.
A tornado touched down near Georgia Highway 40 West in Camden county. The tornado snapped several pine trees along its path as it moved ENE toward Georgia Highway 110.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
16 minutes of warning. NWS JAX issued a tornado warning for this county at 15:49 UTC, 16 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 16:15 UTC.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 14:15 UTC and running to 18:55 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13:00 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Wind Advisory | JAX |
| 14:15 UTC | 18:55 UTC | Tornado Watch | JAX |
| 15:33 UTC | 16:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX |
| 15:49 UTC | 16:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAX |
| 16:10 UTC | 16:39 UTC | Tornado Warning | JAX |
| 16:26 UTC | 16:58 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | JAX |
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 12:53 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.
Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 12:00Z
4.1 hours before the tornado, 42 km from the path. April 19, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 822 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -22 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 1378 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 632 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 51 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 42 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 303 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 279 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 1.3
- Supercell composite
- 7.3
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.8 K/km
Jacksonville, FL (KJAX), 00:00Z
7.9 hours after it, 42 km from the path. April 20, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -74569 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 9 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 1067 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 79 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 45 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -89 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 108 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.9 K/km
The surface observations
Jacksonville Intl (JAX), 43 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:05 UTC | 170° 19 kt | 1006.8 | ||||
| 14:10 UTC | 170° 19 kt | 1006.4 | ||||
| 14:15 UTC | 170° 19 kt | 1006.4 | ||||
| 14:20 UTC | 170° 20 kt | 1006.4 | ||||
| 14:25 UTC | 170° 14 kt | 1006.4 | ||||
| 14:30 UTC | 170° 17 kt | 1006.1 | ||||
| 14:35 UTC | 180° 21 kt | 1006.1 | ||||
| 14:40 UTC | 170° 21 kt | 1006.1 | ||||
| 14:45 UTC | 180° 18 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 14:50 UTC | 170° 19 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 14:55 UTC | 170° 15 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 14:56 UTC | 80 | 70 | 170° 19 kt | 33 | 1005.8 | |
| 15:00 UTC | 170° 23 kt | 1005.4 | ||||
| 15:05 UTC | 180° 21 kt | 1005.4 | ||||
| 15:10 UTC | 170° 17 kt | 1005.4 | ||||
| 15:15 UTC | 180° 16 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:20 UTC | 170° 20 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:25 UTC | 170° 22 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:30 UTC | 170° 19 kt | 1006.1 | ||||
| 15:35 UTC | 180° 17 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:40 UTC | 180° 19 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:43 UTC | 81 | 71 | 180° 17 kt | 1005.8 | ||
| 15:45 UTC | 180° 18 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:50 UTC | 170° 20 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:55 UTC | 17 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 15:56 UTC | 82 | 70 | 190° 17 kt | 25 | 1005.4 | |
| 16:00 UTC | 17 kt | 1005.4 | ||||
| 16:05 UTC | 17 kt | 1005.8 | ||||
| 16:10 UTC | 78 | 66 | 240° 31 kt | 45 | 1007.8 | +TSRA |
| 16:15 UTC | 230° 23 kt | 1008.1 | +RA | |||
| 16:17 UTC | 69 | 63 | 230° 21 kt | 45 | 1008.1 | +TSRA |
| 16:20 UTC | 230° 26 kt | 1008.1 | RA | |||
| 16:25 UTC | 20 kt | 1007.8 | +RA | |||
| 16:30 UTC | 20 kt | 1007.1 | +RA | |||
| 16:35 UTC | 210° 17 kt | 1006.8 | +RA | |||
| 16:38 UTC | 66 | 63 | 210° 16 kt | 27 | 1007.1 | TSRA |
| 16:40 UTC | 210° 16 kt | 1006.8 | RA | |||
| 16:45 UTC | 200° 17 kt | 1006.8 | RA | |||
| 16:50 UTC | 200° 15 kt | 1006.8 | -RA | |||
| 16:55 UTC | 200° 15 kt | 1006.8 | RA | |||
| 16:56 UTC | 66 | 63 | 190° 15 kt | 1006.4 | TSRA | |
| 17:00 UTC | 190° 17 kt | 1006.4 | RA | |||
| 17:05 UTC | 200° 14 kt | 1006.4 | RA | |||
| 17:10 UTC | 190° 16 kt | 1006.4 | -RA | |||
| 17:15 UTC | 200° 16 kt | 1006.4 | -RA | |||
| 17:20 UTC | 200° 18 kt | 1005.8 | -RA | |||
| 17:25 UTC | 210° 15 kt | 1005.8 | -RA | |||
| 17:30 UTC | 200° 14 kt | 1005.8 | -RA | |||
| 17:35 UTC | 200° 15 kt | 1005.8 | -RA | |||
| 17:40 UTC | 200° 13 kt | 18 | 1005.8 | RA | ||
| 17:45 UTC | 190° 13 kt | 1005.8 | -RA | |||
| 17:50 UTC | 190° 11 kt | 1005.8 | RA | |||
| 17:55 UTC | 190° 14 kt | 1005.8 | RA | |||
| 17:56 UTC | 67 | 64 | 190° 15 kt | 20 | 1005.8 | TSRA |
| 18:00 UTC | 190° 13 kt | 1005.8 | RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Jacksonville radar (KJAX), 43 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:04 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Stephen Foster Stat | Charlton, GA | FORMER METEOROLOGIST IN CHARGE AT WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE MELBOURNE, FL REPORTED LARGE PINE TREES DOWNED IN STEPHEN FOSTER STATE PARK. TIME OF DAMAGE BASED ON RADAR DATA. |
| 15:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 5 Ssw Waycross | Ware, GA | *** 1 INJ *** MOBILE HOME ROLLED OVER AND BROKE APART WHEN SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CROSSED THROUGH WAYCROSS. THREE CARS WERE ALSO OVERTURNED AT THE LOCATION. 1 PERSON WAS INJURED IN THE MOBILE HOME. |
| 15:18 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Wsw Hoboken | Brantley, GA | PUBLIC SUBMITTED A REPORT OF A TREE DOWN ON POWER LINES ALONG PIERCE CHAPEL RD NEAR HIGHBLUFF RD. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 15:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Hoboken | Brantley, GA | BRANTLEY COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORTS 3-4 TREES DOWNED ALONG HIGHWAY 520 IN THE VICINITY OF HOBOKEN. TIME OF DAMAGE BASED ON RADAR DATA. |
| 15:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 E Folkston | Charlton, GA | BROADCAST MEDIA PASSED ALONG A REPORT OF A TREE SNAPPED IN HALF IN FOLKSTON NEAR GEORGIA HIGHWAY 40 AND CAMP PINCKNEY ROAD. TIME IS ESTIMATED BASED ON RADAR IMAGERY. |
| 15:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 6 Nne Raybon | Brantley, GA | PUBLIC REPORTED A TREE DOWN ON AUTHRO SLOAN RD. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 16:02 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nw Kings Ferry | Camden, GA | UNCONFIRMED TORNADO. SPOTTER REPORTED A RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO ON GA 40 WEST OF HIGHWAY 110. |
| 16:06 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nw Kings Ferry | Camden, GA | A EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR GEORGIA HIGHWAY 40W IN CAMDEN COUNTY GEORGIA SNAPPING SEVERAL PINE TREES ALONG ITS CONFINED PATH AS IT MOVED WEST-SOUTHWEST TOWARD GEORGIA HIGHWAY 110. |
| 16:06 UTC | TORNADO | 5 Nw Kingsland | Camden, GA | CORRECTED LOCATION UNCONFIRMED TORNADO. SPOTTER REPORTED A RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO ON GA 40 WEST OF HIGHWAY 110. |
| 16:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Kingsland | Camden, GA | NWS EMPLOYEE OBSERVED STRUCTURE DAMAGE TO A FURNITURE STORE ON COMMERCE DR NEAR E KINGS AVE. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 16:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Kingsland | Camden, GA | SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTO OF SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO A BABCOCK FURNITURE STORE IN KINGSLAND. TIME OF DAMAGE BASED ON RADAR DATA. |
| 16:33 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ene Brunswick | Glynn, GA | SOCIAL MEDIA PHOTO OF A SEMI TRACTOR TRAILER FLIPPED ON ITS SIDE ALONG THE TORRAS CAUSEWAY. TIME OF EVENT BASED ON RADAR DATA. |
| 16:38 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ne Brunswick | Glynn, GA | SPOTTER RELAYED A REPORT OF A SEMI TRUCK FLIPPED ON ITS SIDE WITH PHOTOS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA ALONG THE TORRES CAUSEWAY. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR. |
| 16:39 UTC | TSTM WND GST 52 | 5 E Brunswick | Glynn, GA | SAINT SIMONS ISLAND AIRPORT MEASURED A 52 MPH WIND GUST. |
| 17:19 UTC | TSTM WND GST 53 | 2 Ssw High Point | Camden, GA | THE REMOTE AUTOMATED WEATHER STATION AT THE STAFFORD SITE ON CUMBERLAND ISLAND MEASURED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 53 MPH. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2019 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of April 19, 2019
44 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 19 | 5:07 AM EDT | EF0 | Fulton, GA | 0.6 | 150 | $40,000 | ||
| April 19 | 5:50 AM EDT | EF1 | Hall, GA | 2.4 | 300 | $75,000 | ||
| April 19 | 8:26 AM EDT | EF0 | Liberty, FL | 18.1 | 150 | |||
| April 19 | 10:25 AM EDT | EF3 | Franklin, VA | 8.1 | 250 | $650,000 | ||
| April 19 | 10:27 AM EDT | EF0 | McDowell, NC | 0.4 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| April 19 | 11:22 AM EDT | EF1 | Bedford, VA | 2.2 | 60 | $75,000 | ||
| April 19 | 11:25 AM EDT | EF1 | Laurens, GA | 4.5 | 200 | $75,000 | ||
| April 19 | 1:48 PM EDT | EF2 | Orangeburg, SC | 10.6 | 300 | |||
| April 19 | 2:01 PM EDT | EF1 | Orangeburg, SC | 7.8 | 400 | |||
| April 19 | 2:07 PM EDT | EF1 | Newberry, SC | 1.9 | 200 | |||
| April 19 | 2:08 PM EDT | EF0 | Newberry, SC | 0.3 | 25 | |||
| April 19 | 2:29 PM EDT | EF2 | Clarendon, SC | 2.9 | 250 | |||
| April 19 | 3:00 PM EDT | EF0 | Williamsburg, SC | 0.3 | 15 | |||
| April 19 | 3:00 PM EDT | EF0 | Florence, SC | 0.6 | 30 | $50,000 | ||
| April 19 | 3:11 PM EDT | EF1 | Moore, NC | 1.6 | 300 | $200,000 | ||
| April 19 | 3:29 PM EDT | EF0 | Lincoln, NC | 7.1 | 100 | 1 | $10,000 | |
| April 19 | 3:35 PM EDT | EF1 | Chatham, NC | 1.9 | 150 | $100,000 | ||
| April 19 | 4:00 PM EDT | EF2 | Orange, NC | 10.1 | 600 | $2.0 million | ||
| April 19 | 4:10 PM EDT | EF0 | Alexander, NC | 0.5 | 75 | $5,000 | ||
| April 19 | 5:01 PM EDT | EF1 | Sampson, NC | 10.2 | 125 | $1.1 million | ||
| April 19 | 5:31 PM EDT | EF1 | Nelson, VA | 1.5 | 125 | |||
| April 19 | 6:08 PM EDT | EF1 | Nash, NC | 11.7 | 350 | $700,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:16 PM EDT | EF1 | Edgecombe, NC | 10.6 | 75 | $50,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:34 PM EDT | EF1 | Halifax, NC to VA | 16.0 | 100 | $78,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:39 PM EDT | EF0 | Northampton, NC | 1.5 | 50 | $10,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:44 PM EDT | EF0 | Northampton, NC | 9.8 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:48 PM EDT | EF0 | Greensville, VA | 6.3 | 50 | $5,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:50 PM EDT | EF0 | Brunswick, VA | 0.6 | 200 | $10,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:51 PM EDT | EF1 | Greensville, VA | 8.6 | 100 | $20,000 | ||
| April 19 | 6:56 PM EDT | EF0 | City of Emporia, VA | 4.4 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:06 PM EDT | EF1 | Fulton, PA | 1.5 | 75 | $25,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:10 PM EDT | EF2 | Franklin, PA | 2.9 | 75 | $100,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:18 PM EDT | EF0 | Sussex, VA | 17.7 | 100 | $15,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:28 PM EDT | EF1 | Huntingdon, PA | 5.4 | 350 | $100,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:31 PM EDT | EF1 | Prince George, VA | 8.3 | 200 | $30,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:39 PM EDT | EF1 | Juniata, PA | 1.3 | 350 | $25,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:46 PM EDT | EF2 | Charles City, VA | 3.1 | 200 | $125,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:56 PM EDT | EF0 | Isle of Wight, VA | 2.9 | 100 | $15,000 | ||
| April 19 | 7:57 PM EDT | EF2 | Mifflin, PA | 4.9 | 200 | $500,000 | ||
| April 19 | 8:05 PM EDT | EF0 | York, VA | 1.8 | 150 | $150,000 | ||
| April 19 | 8:06 PM EDT | EF2 | Louisa, VA | 2.0 | 300 | $200,000 | ||
| April 19 | 8:07 PM EDT | EF0 | City of Newport News, VA | 1.8 | 100 | $50,000 | ||
| April 19 | 8:20 PM EDT | EF0 | Gloucester, VA | 1.4 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| April 19 | 8:55 PM EDT | EF0 | Fairfax, VA | 4.1 | 100 |
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.