EF1 tornado, Neese to Danielsville, Georgia, May 3, 2021

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

May 3, 2021

Touchdown

12:54 PM EDT (16:54 UTC)

Lifted

1:05 PM EDT (17:05 UTC)

On the ground

11 minutes

Path length

5.5 miles (8.9 km)

Path width

250 yards (229 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Madison County

Touchdown point

34.067, -83.315

Lift-off point

34.087, -83.221

Record number

2105031054-01

2 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.

A series of upper-level short waves moved across the region in persistent, southwesterly upper-level flow combined with moderate instability and shear to produce several rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms across north and central Georgia. Some of these storms dumped 2 to 4 inches of rain over the area, resulting in isolated flash flooding.

A National Weather Service survey determined that an EF1 tornado with maximum winds of 90 MPH and a maximum path width of 250 yards touched down just east of Highway 106 along Willis Glenn Road near the community of Neese. The tornado moved east northeast crossing Sanders Road and Stone Creek Drive where several trees, both|hardwood and pine, were snapped or uprooted. As the tornado continued east northeast crossing Scogin Road, a home sustained some minor roof damage and numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. The storm increased in intensity as it crossed Buddy Moore Road where numerous trees were uprooted with one falling onto a |home at the intersection of Buddy Moore Road and Scogin Road. Further northeast, along Strickland Circle, several trees were downed with one falling onto a home. The tornado continued moving to the northeast crossing Moons Grove Church Road snapping and uprooting numerous trees, including one that fell onto an outbuilding. As the tornado continued northeast through the end of Kellogg Drive and crossing Highway |29, several trees were snapped including one that fell onto a another home. The storm then crossed Mariah Church Road and Christmas Circle, where a home had a large tree fall through it. A few outbuildings were destroyed along and numerous trees were downed or snapped. The tornado ended as it approached Colbert Grove Church Road. [5/3/21: Tornado #4, County #1/1, EF-1, Madison, 2021:012].

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

12 minutes of warning. NWS FFC issued a tornado warning for this county at 16:42 UTC, 12 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 17:15 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 16:23 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 Greer radar (KGSP), 131 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 16:52 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 2021 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

30 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.