Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2019
EF0 tornado, Locust Grove, Georgia, February 12, 2019
This EF0 tornado ran 0.9 miles across Henry County on February 12, 2019, touching down at 2:12 PM EST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $15,000 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.
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
- February 12, 2019
- Touchdown
- 2:12 PM EST (19:12 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:14 PM EST (19:14 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 0.9 miles (1.4 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $15,000
- County
- Henry County
- Touchdown point
- 33.339, -84.097
- Lift-off point
- 33.333, -84.083
- Record number
- 1902121312-01
The damage survey
20 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FFC, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF0. The highest wind the damage implies is 75 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 sharp upper-level trough and associated strong cold front swept through the region resulting in numerous reports of damaging thunderstorm wind gusts and a few isolated tornadoes across parts of north and central Georgia.
A National Weather Service survey team found that an EF0 tornado with a maximum wind speed of 75 mph and a maximum path width of 100 yards touched down in the Locust Grove area of southern Henry County. The tornado snapped or uprooted trees as it moved southeast along the north side of Highway 42 between Barnes Drive and Davis Road. Just before the tornado lifted, the front and side porches of a house were lifted and then collapsed. No injuries were reported. [02/12/19: Tornado #3, County #1/1, EF-0, Henry, 2019:003].
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Feb 12, 2:00 PM EST, 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 12, 2:00 PM EST, 12 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 200 PM EST Tue Feb 12 2019 .SHORT TERM /Tonight through Wednesday Night/... A cold front is expected to exit the area tonight. A line of heavy showers and some brief thunderstorms are associated and will move across the rest of the forecast area this afternoon and possibly early evening before ending. Some strong gusty winds have been associated with the line. A much drier airmass will move over the area during the overnight and continue the rest of the short term. Forecast low temperatures are running about 2-6 degrees above normal tonight and within a few degrees of normal Wednesday night. Forecast high temperatures are running near to about 2-4 degrees below normal for Wednesday. BDL .LONG TERM /Thursday through Tuesday/... No significant changes made in the Long-Term Forecast period at this time. Still looks like a wet pattern setting up across the region as the upper flow remains fairly flat but active. Please see the previous Long-Term Forecast discussion below. 20 Previous LONG TERM Discussion /Wednesday Night through Monday/... The long term portion begins in one of the few dry periods as surface high resides right over the area through Thu morning. This looks to be the coldest morning of the long term as good radiational cooling setup allows for sub freezing conditions over a good portion of the northern tier. Zonal flow aloft means systems will move in quickly and often beginning Fri. Already some differences creep into the models with the GFS having a sharper trough and consequently more QPF. Have used a blend for now which still yields likely pops for the northern tier and chance for Central GA. More substantial system in store for Sat as low pressure tracks across the Tennessee Valley and drags a frontal boundary across the area and what looks like a washout of a Sat for most areas. With the zonal flow aloft not going away, we just never can really get a clearing front through the area. Sunday looks like it could be wet as well now, at least for Central GA with North GA possibly clearing out early in the day. Enough instability present to warrant inclusion of slight chance thunder for Sunday afternoon. It should be noted that in the super long term, this pattern looks to persist and has the chances of bringing copious amounts of rainfall to portions of the area should models verify. Deese && .AVIATION... 18Z Update... Most conditions MVFR or short improving to MVFR ceilings. Highly variable conditions expected with a line of heavier showers and possible brief thunderstorms with brief IFR conditions associated possible. Conditions improve to VFR overnight. Surface winds SSW 10-15kts with gusts up to around 25 kts, becoming west 10-15 kts then diminishing some. //ATL Confidence...18Z Update... Low to Medium confidence for ceilings/vsbys associated with line of showers. Medium to High confidence for winds. BDL && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 36 57 33 63 / 50 0 0 5 Atlanta 36 54 36 62 / 50 0 0 5 Blairsville 30 49 28 58 / 40 0 0 5 Cartersville 34 54 33 61 / 30 0 0 5 Columbus 39 59 35 64 / 50 0 0 5 Gainesville 35 53 34 61 / 50 0 0 5 Macon 39 59 34 65 / 50 0 0 5 Rome 34 54 33 61 / 20 0 0 5 Peachtree City 36 56 33 62 / 50 0 0 5 Vidalia 45 61 36 67 / 70 5 0 5 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...BDL LONG TERM....20 AVIATION...BDL
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 12, 10:42 AM EST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 1042 AM EST Tue Feb 12 2019 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-131545- Baldwin-Banks-Barrow-Bartow-Bibb-Bleckley-Butts-Carroll-Catoosa- Chattahoochee-Chattooga-Cherokee-Clarke-Clayton-Cobb-Coweta- Crawford-Crisp-Dade-Dawson-DeKalb-Dodge-Dooly-Douglas-Emanuel- Fannin-Fayette-Floyd-Forsyth-Gilmer-Glascock-Gordon-Greene- Gwinnett-Hall-Hancock-Haralson-Harris-Heard-Henry-Houston-Jackson- Jasper-Jefferson-Johnson-Jones-Lamar-Laurens-Lumpkin-Macon- Madison-Marion-Meriwether-Monroe-Montgomery-Morgan-Murray- Muscogee-Newton-North Fulton-Oconee-Oglethorpe-Paulding-Peach- Pickens-Pike-Polk-Pulaski-Putnam-Rockdale-Schley-South Fulton- Spalding-Stewart-Sumter-Talbot-Taliaferro-Taylor-Telfair-Toombs- Towns-Treutlen-Troup-Twiggs-Union-Upson-Walker-Walton-Warren- Washington-Webster-Wheeler-White-Whitfield-Wilcox-Wilkes- Wilkinson- 1042 AM EST Tue Feb 12 2019 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North and Central Georgia. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight... Patchy dense fog will continue to impact portions of eastern Georgia through the rest of the morning hours. A line of showers with isolated embedded thunderstorms will move through the area through this afternoon and evening. Although widespread severe weather is not anticipated, a few of the storms could be strong producing damaging winds and heavy rainfall. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, especially across portions of west and central Georgia later this afternoon. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday... Isolated thunderstorms will be possible again on Sunday as a series of storm systems move across the outlook area. In addition, some localized flooding will be possible as the potential for locally heavy rainfall will exist. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not requested but spotters are encouraged to submit reports of severe weather through the web by going to weather.gov/atlanta.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Feb 12, 1:22 PM EST, 50 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Special weather statement, Feb 12, 1:36 PM EST, 36 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Special weather statement, Feb 12, 1:39 PM EST, 33 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
139 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
GAZ016-023>025-034-035-121915-
Hall GA-Banks GA-Jackson GA-Barrow GA-Gwinnett GA-White GA-
139 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR HALL...BANKS...JACKSON...
BARROW...GWINNETT AND SOUTHEASTERN WHITE COUNTIES UNTIL 215 PM EST...
At 139 PM EST...National Weather Service doppler radar indicated a
line of strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near
Cleveland to near Oakwood to near Lilburn...and moving east at 50
mph.
HAZARD...40 to 50 mph wind and enhanced risk of a brief tornado.
IMPACT...While winds should result in minor damage to tree limbs
and blowing around of light...unsecured objects...the
leading edge of this line of storms has also exhibited
areas of localized rotation. A brief tornado could
quickly form.
Some locations in the path of these storms include
Gainesville, Lawrenceville, Winder, Jefferson, Commerce, Cleveland,
Homer, Duluth, Sugar Hill, Snellville, Suwanee, Buford, Lilburn,
Norcross, Braselton, Auburn, Flowery Branch, Dacula, Oakwood and
Lula.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
People outdoors should seek shelter immediately.
LAT...LON 3465 8366 3455 8362 3451 8367 3448 8365
3443 8361 3449 8354 3446 8340 3442 8338
3432 8339 3427 8335 3391 8365 3392 8368
3389 8376 3393 8380 3388 8386 3386 8417
3388 8422 3424 8395 3467 8374 3470 8364
TIME...MOT...LOC 1839Z 257DEG 43KT 3462 8370 3426 8388 3392 8413
WIND...50MPHSpecial weather statement, Feb 12, 1:40 PM EST, 32 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
140 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
GAZ102-103-121915-
Stewart GA-Webster GA-
140 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR STEWART AND WEBSTER COUNTIES
UNTIL 215 PM EST...
At 140 PM EST...National Weather Service doppler radar indicated a
strong thunderstorm over Omaha, or 14 miles northwest of Lumpkin...
moving east at 50 mph.
HAZARD...40 to 50 mph wind and enhanced risk of a brief tornado.
IMPACT...While winds should result in minor damage to tree limbs
and blowing around of light...unsecured objects...this
storm has also exhibited localized rotation. A brief
tornado could quickly form.
Some locations in the path of this storm include
Lumpkin, Preston, Richland, Seminole, Charles, Kimbrough, Florence
Marina State Park, Westville, Brooklyn, Omaha, Church Hill,
Centerpoint, Dumas, Louvale and Providence Canyon State Park.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
People outdoors should seek shelter immediately.
LAT...LON 3201 8504 3213 8506 3218 8501 3220 8496
3221 8498 3222 8498 3222 8493 3223 8492
3223 8482 3222 8480 3223 8480 3223 8462
3219 8459 3219 8457 3218 8456 3217 8454
3213 8453 3213 8448 3198 8445
TIME...MOT...LOC 1840Z 257DEG 43KT 3218 8500
WIND...50MPHSpecial weather statement, Feb 12, 1:45 PM EST, 27 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
145 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
GAZ069-078>080-089>092-121915-
Schley GA-Chattahoochee GA-Harris GA-Taylor GA-Marion GA-Upson GA-
Talbot GA-Muscogee GA-
145 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN SCHLEY...
NORTHEASTERN CHATTAHOOCHEE...SOUTHEASTERN HARRIS...TAYLOR...NORTHERN
MARION...UPSON...TALBOT AND EASTERN MUSCOGEE COUNTIES UNTIL 215 PM
EST...
At 145 PM EST...National Weather Service doppler radar indicated a
line of strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near Waverly
Hall to Upatoi to near Eelbeck/West Fort Benning...and moving east at
55 mph.
HAZARD...40 to 50 mph wind and enhanced risk of a brief tornado.
IMPACT...While winds should result in minor damage to tree limbs
and blowing around of light...unsecured objects...the
leading edge of this line of storms has also exhibited
areas of localized rotation. A brief tornado could
quickly form.
Some locations in the path of these storms include
Thomaston, Buena Vista, Butler, Hamilton, Talbotton, Waverly Hall,
Woodland, Junction City, Geneva, North Fort Benning, Lincoln Park,
Upatoi, Brantley, Ellerslie, Juniper, Rupert, Baughville, Oakland,
Howard and Logtown.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
People outdoors should seek shelter immediately.
LAT...LON 3232 8487 3251 8481 3275 8487 3291 8417
3280 8415 3269 8420 3268 8412 3260 8410
3250 8413 3241 8419 3240 8425 3233 8426
TIME...MOT...LOC 1845Z 261DEG 49KT 3269 8477 3253 8473 3240 8477
WIND...50MPHSpecial weather statement, Feb 12, 1:53 PM EST, 19 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
153 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
GAZ037-046>049-056>059-068-070-071-121930-
Butts GA-Morgan GA-Lamar GA-Walton GA-Rockdale GA-Monroe GA-
Jasper GA-Spalding GA-Oconee GA-Newton GA-Pike GA-Henry GA-
153 PM EST TUE FEB 12 2019
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BUTTS...MORGAN...LAMAR...
WALTON...ROCKDALE...MONROE...JASPER...SPALDING...OCONEE...NEWTON...
NORTHERN PIKE AND HENRY COUNTIES UNTIL 230 PM EST...
At 153 PM EST...National Weather Service doppler radar indicated a
line of strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near Harbin
to Hidden Valley Park to near Hollonville...and moving southeast at
40 mph.
HAZARD...40 to 50 mph wind and enhanced risk of a brief tornado.
IMPACT...While winds should result in minor damage to tree limbs
and blowing around of light...unsecured objects...the
leading edge of this line of storms has also exhibited
areas of localized rotation. A brief tornado could
quickly form.
Some locations in the path of these storms include
Griffin, McDonough, Conyers, Monroe, Covington, Barnesville, Jackson,
Madison, Forsyth, Watkinsville, Monticello, Zebulon, Stockbridge,
Loganville, Hampton, Lovejoy, Locust Grove, Social Circle, Oxford and
Porterdale.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
People outdoors should seek shelter immediately.
LAT...LON 3325 8451 3326 8443 3335 8438 3335 8435
3343 8435 3344 8429 3365 8425 3363 8424
3362 8411 3372 8406 3393 8380 3389 8376
3394 8358 3387 8334 3333 8359 3314 8375
3313 8382 3310 8379 3289 8396 3315 8451
TIME...MOT...LOC 1853Z 309DEG 34KT 3394 8390 3359 8421 3320 8446
WIND...50MPHThe 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.
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 12:00Z
7.2 hours before the tornado, 38 km from the path. February 12, 2019.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 65 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -13 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 20 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 496 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 54 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 44 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 274 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 279 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 4.2 K/km
The surface observations
Spalding (6A2), 21 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 UTC |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:10 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.
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 February 12, 2019
5 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 12 | 4:53 AM CST | EF1 | Leake, MS | 4.2 | 500 | $40,000 | ||
| February 12 | 1:29 PM EST | EF0 | Fayette, GA | 0.6 | 150 | $10,000 | ||
| February 12 | 1:33 PM EST | EF0 | Clayton, GA | 3.0 | 100 | $25,000 | ||
| February 12 | 2:29 PM EST | EF0 | Macon, GA | 0.8 | 200 | $10,000 | ||
| February 12 | 6:48 PM EST | EF1 | Orangeburg, SC | 0.6 | 125 |
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.