Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2019

EF0 tornado, Newton, Georgia, December 17, 2019

This EF0 tornado ran 0.2 miles across Baker County on December 17, 2019, touching down at 10:00 AM EST and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $10,000 of property damage.

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.

  1. EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado

    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 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.

The record

Rating
EF0
Date
December 17, 2019
Touchdown
10:00 AM EST (15:00 UTC)
Lifted
10:02 AM EST (15:02 UTC)
On the ground
2 minutes
Path length
0.2 miles (0.3 km)
Path width
75 yards (69 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
County
Baker County
Touchdown point
31.307, -84.393
Lift-off point
31.308, -84.390
Record number
1912170900-01

The damage survey

9 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 76 mph.

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

What the Weather Service recorded

A strong cold front moved through the area with showers and thunderstorms. There were several reports of trees and power lines down, and one storm produced an EF2 tornado that tracked from Irwin into Ben Hill county in Georgia. Additional EF0 tornadoes touched down in Early county, GA, Baker county, GA, and Houston county, AL. An EF1 tornado occurred in Miller county, GA.

The initial touchdown occurred north of Church road in Baker county where several trees and large limbs were snapped. The tornado moved northeast near a mobile home which received roof damage and the entire structure was slid off its support roughly 3 feet, as well as damaged an irrigation pivot. The tornado dissipated just west of Coon Pond Road. Max winds were estimated at 70 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

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

The warnings

36 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 14:24 UTC, 36 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 15:00 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 12:54 UTC and running to 17:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
12:54 UTC17:00 UTCTornado WatchTAE
14:24 UTC15:00 UTCTornado WarningTAE
14:51 UTC15:30 UTCTornado WarningTAE
15:03 UTC15:45 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAE

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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 13:01 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.

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 12:00Z

3.0 hours before the tornado, 101 km from the path. December 17, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2019-12-17Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 155 joules per kilogram, CIN -15, lifted condensation level 589 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2019-12-17The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 318 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 58 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
155 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-15 J/kg
Surface CAPE
187 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
589 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
58 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
318 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
284 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.1
Supercell composite
1.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.7 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Tallahassee Rgnl, FL (KTLH), 00:00Z

9.0 hours after it, 101 km from the path. December 18, 2019.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2019-12-18Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -77102, lifted condensation level 569 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2019-12-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 43 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 67 knots.1939587897Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-77102 J/kg
Surface CAPE
4 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
569 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
67 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
19 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
43 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
51 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
3.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Camilla (CXU), 18 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
13:15 UTC7167.3210° 9 kt1012.5
13:35 UTC71.267.3210° 9 kt1012.2
13:55 UTC71.667.5210° 8 kt1012.2
14:15 UTC7267.6240° 9 kt1012.5
14:35 UTC7367.6220° 9 kt1012.5
14:55 UTC73.868200° 11 kt1011.5
15:15 UTC7567.6220° 12 kt211011.5
15:35 UTC72.568.2240° 9 kt151012.2
15:55 UTC72.568.2250° 8 kt1012.2
16:15 UTC69.865280° 6 kt1012.5
16:35 UTC67.864.8310° 10 kt141012.9
16:55 UTC66.764330° 8 kt211012.5

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

The radar

The Tallahassee radar (KTLH), 101 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 15:02 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)ReportWhereCountyRemark
12:30 UTCTORNADO2 N Rock HillEarly, GAA BRIEF EF0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR ROCK HILL ROAD AND CHANCEY MILL ROAD SOUTHWEST OF BLAKELY. A FEW TREES WERE SNAPPED AND BLOWN DOWN IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS, AND A SMALL DUAL-POL DEBRIS SIGNATURE WAS NOTED ON KEOX RA
14:27 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene ColquittMiller, GACORRECTS TIME OF PREVIOUS TSTM WND DMG REPORT FROM 2 ENE COLQUITT. BARNS SEVERELY DAMAGED BY STRONG WINDS FROM A POTENTIAL TORNADO. IRRIGATION SYSTEM TIPPED AND BENT. TREES DOWN IN THAT AREA.
14:27 UTCTORNADO2 Sse JetervilleMiller, GAAN EF1 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ALONG PHILLIPSBURG ROAD NORTH OF COLQUITT AND MOVED NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PORTIONS OF THE COUNTY BEFORE LIFTING JUST PAST KELLEY ROAD. DAMAGE TO BARNS, FARM EQUIPMENT, AND TREES W
14:52 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 Se Elmodel WmaBaker, GAREPORT OF A HOME DAMAGE ALONG TRAVELERS REST ROAD.
15:00 UTCTSTM WND DMGNewtonBaker, GAMULTIPLE TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
15:00 UTCTORNADO3 Se Elmodel WmaBaker, GANWS SURVEY FOUND EF-0 TORNADO WITH MAXIMUM WINDS OF 70 MPH. DAMAGE TO A HOME AND IRRIGATION PIVOT IN THE AREA.
15:32 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene ColquittMiller, GABARNS SEVERELY DAMAGED BY STRONG WINDS FROM A POTENTIAL TORNADO. IRRIGATION SYSTEM TIPPED AND BENT. TREES DOWN IN THAT AREA.

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 December 17, 2019

4 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
December 177:30 AM ESTEF0Early, GA0.450
December 176:52 AM CSTEF0Houston, AL0.125$25,000
December 179:27 AM ESTEF1Miller, GA6.6200$75,000
December 1711:39 AM ESTEF2Irwin, GA20.3400$600,000

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.