Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2022

EF1 tornado, Centerville to Cuba, Georgia, April 5, 2022

From Centerville to Cuba, this EF1 tornado ran 4.9 miles across Early County on April 5, 2022, touching down at 3:15 PM EDT and reaching 50 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.

  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.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
April 5, 2022
Touchdown
3:15 PM EDT (19:15 UTC)
Lifted
3:21 PM EDT (19:21 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
4.9 miles (7.9 km)
Path width
50 yards (46 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
County
Early County
Touchdown point
31.296, -84.910
Lift-off point
31.319, -84.831
Record number
2204051315-01

The damage survey

13 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS TAE, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 90 mph.

  • Loss of metal roofing over shingles.
  • Large number of pines snapped.
  • EM mentioned several trees were uprooted or snapped half way up along Sandy Bottom Road, and that they were already cleared from the area.

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 slow moving cold front brought multiple rounds of severe weather to the tri-state region from April 5-7. Several tornadoes occurred along with numerous reports of wind damage and a few reports of large hail. None of the tornadoes were rated stronger than EF1.

A tornado touched down in a stand of trees across a field from Old Lucile road. It continued to uproot several trees in front of the houses along Old Lucile road, as well as lifting part of a metal roof on a small house. The tornado continued eastward towards Three Notch road into Miller county where a live oak tree was uprooted, and a couple large pine trees were snapped halfway up. The tornado again continued east where a couple outbuildings and trees were blown down along Cooper Loop, Cannon road, and Charlie Tiner road. The tornado then lifted before it would have crossed US highway 27. This tornado was rated EF1 with maximum estimated winds around 90 mph. A dual-pol tornadic debris signature (TDS) was evident on KEOX radar.

A tornado touched down in a field along Three Notch road. It snapped and uprooted several large pine trees along the edge of the field. The tornado then uprooted and snapped several large live oak trees at a residence along the intersection of US highway 27 and Taylor Harris road. The tornado moved towards Sandy Bottom road where a few pine trees were snapped or uprooted. This tornado was rated an EF1 with maximum estimated winds around 90 mph. A dual-pol tornadic debris signature (TDS) was evident on KEOX radar.

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

The warnings

0 minutes of warning. NWS TAE issued a tornado warning for this county at 19:15 UTC, 0 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:37 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 16:05 UTC and running to 20:20 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
06:21 UTC07:11 UTCFlood WatchTAE
16:05 UTC20:20 UTCTornado WatchTAE
18:14 UTC19:15 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAE
19:07 UTC20:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningTAE
19:15 UTC19:37 UTCTornado WarningTAE
19:22 UTC19:41 UTCTornado 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 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 16:29 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

7.3 hours before the tornado, 115 km from the path. April 5, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 12:00Z on 2022-04-05Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 596 joules per kilogram, CIN -100, lifted condensation level 680 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2022-04-05The 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 211 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 42 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
596 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-100 J/kg
Surface CAPE
21 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
680 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
42 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
26 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
211 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
303 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
4.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.4 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

4.7 hours after it, 115 km from the path. April 6, 2022.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Tallahassee Rgnl, FL at 00:00Z on 2022-04-06Temperature 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 -39976, lifted condensation level 557 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°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 2022-04-06The 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 -166 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 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
-39976 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
557 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
27 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-166 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-56 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.0 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 58 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 19:16 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
18:58 UTCTSTM WND GST 42Decatur Co A/PDecatur, GAMESONET STATION TT665 BAINBRIDGE REPORTED A WIND GUST OF 42 MPH.
19:08 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Wnw CentervilleEarly, GATRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN SOUTH OF BLAKELY ON GA HIGHWAY 39 IN EARLY COUNTY. ESTIMATED TIME AT 3:08PM. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
19:15 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 Ene HentownEarly, GATRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED TREES AND POWERLINES DOWN AROUND 16480 DAMASCUS-HILTON ROAD IN EARLY COUNTY. ESTIMATED TIME AT 3:15PM. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
19:15 UTCTORNADO2 Nnw CentervilleEarly, GAEF1 CONFIRMED BY STORM SURVEY.
19:15 UTCTORNADO2 Wsw CentervilleEarly, GAEF1 CONFIRMED BY STORM SURVEY.
19:17 UTCTORNADO1 Sse CentervilleEarly, GAVIDEO FROM A STORM CHASER NEAR CENTERVILLE CLEARLY SHOWED A TORNADO ON THE GROUND. STRENGTH UNKNOWN. EOX RADAR DETECTED A WELL-DEFINED TORNADIC DEBRIS SIGNATURE STARTING AT 312 PM SOUTHEAST OF SAWHATCHEE.
19:19 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 E CentervilleEarly, GAPOSSIBLE TORNADO. ROOF TORN OFF A LEAN-TO HOUSE. A BARN WAS FLATTENED. ABOUT 50 YARDS NORTH OF THE MILLER COUNTY LINE.
19:23 UTCTSTM WND DMG4 Ne MayhawMiller, GAA TREE WAS BLOWN DOWN ON WOMBLE ROAD
19:35 UTCTSTM WND DMGMimsvilleBaker, GA40 TREES REPORTED DOWN ACROSS A LARGE SWATH OF BAKER COUNTY.
19:40 UTCTSTM WND DMGColquittMiller, GAWIRES WERE BLOWN DOWN IN THE COLQUITT AREA
19:51 UTCTORNADO4 N NewtonBaker, GATRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED A TORNADO VIA SPOTTERNETWORK WITH TREES SNAPPED IN THE AREA
19:59 UTCTSTM WND GST 606 Nw CamillaMitchell, GAUGA WEATHER NETWORK STATION AT CAMILLA REPORTED A 59.6 MPH GUST
20:22 UTCTSTM WND DMGBainbridgeDecatur, GATREE FELL ON AN OCCUPIED VEHICLE ON SHARPE STREET AT SCOTT STREET. POWER LINES DOWN. TIME ESTIMATED BY RADAR.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2022 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of April 5, 2022

66 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
April 53:45 AM CDTEF1Lincoln Parish, LA5.1150$10,000
April 56:46 AM CDTEF1Scott, MS7.6100$40,000
April 57:00 AM CDTEF1Scott, MS4.7300$25,000
April 57:06 AM CDTEF1Jefferson Davis, MS3.1100$40,000
April 57:09 AM CDTEF1Scott, MS2.1100$25,000
April 57:09 AM CDTEF2Jefferson Davis, MS14.8400$150,000
April 57:16 AM CDTEF1Newton, MS4.0100$75,000
April 57:22 AM CDTEF1Covington, MS16.5440$81,000
April 57:56 AM CDTEF1Jones, MS8.6250$50,000
April 58:06 AM CDTEF1Clarke, MS2.9250$150,000
April 58:14 AM CDTEF2Wayne, MS2.2250
April 58:18 AM CDTEF0Lauderdale, MS2.525$30,000
April 58:19 AM CDTEF1Wayne, MS2.6100
April 58:36 AM CDTEF1Wayne, MS0.350
April 59:03 AM CDTEF2Clarke, AL9.5800
April 59:10 AM CDTEF1Clarke, AL1.8100
April 510:10 AM CDTEF1Monroe, AL1.575
April 510:54 AM CDTEF2Elmore, AL4.4900
April 510:56 AM CDTEF2Crenshaw, AL1.3250
April 511:03 AM CDTEF2Pike, AL12.71,100
April 511:06 AM CDTEF0Elmore, AL5.3300
April 511:19 AM CDTEF1Macon, AL4.3250
April 511:20 AM CDTUnratedCrenshaw, AL0.425
April 511:22 AM CDTEF0Tallapoosa, AL1.8110
April 511:34 AM CDTEF1Pike, AL7.6550
April 511:45 AM CDTEF0Chambers, AL0.4200
April 511:50 AM CDTEF1Bullock, AL1.6600
April 512:38 PM CDTEF1Barbour, AL1.5200
April 52:04 PM EDTEF1Chattahoochee, GA6.7300
April 51:24 PM CDTEF0Henry, AL2.850
April 52:29 PM EDTEF1Taylor, GA3.0150
April 51:38 PM CDTEF0Houston, AL6.8200$150,000
April 51:39 PM CDTEF1Geneva, AL0.250$3,000
April 52:50 PM EDTEF1Taylor, GA7.2300
April 51:53 PM CDTEF0Houston, AL0.125$50,000
April 53:01 PM EDTEF1Macon, GA17.3250
April 53:07 PM EDTEF1Crawford, GA8.8200
April 53:15 PM EDTEF1Early, GA7.150$50,000
April 53:26 PM EDTEF2Dooly, GA5.8300
April 53:33 PM EDTEF1Bibb, GA2.0100
April 53:49 PM EDTEF3Houston, GA3.98203
April 53:50 PM EDTEF3Allendale, SC13.31,0001
April 53:51 PM EDTEF0Baker, GA0.625
April 54:01 PM EDTEF0Baldwin, GA1.7150
April 54:11 PM EDTEF1Twiggs, GA12.3400
April 54:12 PM EDTEF1Mitchell, GA8.150$100,000
April 54:14 PM EDTEF1Bleckley, GA7.6125
April 54:18 PM EDTEF1Bamberg, SC3.7250
April 54:20 PM EDTEF0Wilcox, GA9.4200
April 54:39 PM EDTEF0Bamberg, SC2.4200
April 54:53 PM EDTEF0Orangeburg, SC1.050
April 55:07 PM EDTEF0Orangeburg, SC0.8200
April 55:10 PM EDTEF0Treutlen, GA0.9100
April 55:17 PM EDTEF1Treutlen, GA0.8200
April 55:18 PM EDTEF4Pembroke–Black Creek tornado, GA14.41,300112
April 55:22 PM EDTEF1Emanuel, GA6.2150
April 55:27 PM EDTEF0Emanuel, GA0.750
April 55:35 PM EDTEF2Lexington, SC5.71001
April 56:03 PM EDTEF1Allendale, SC1.3100
April 56:03 PM EDTEF3Allendale, SC34.5500

All 67 of them

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.