Tornadoes · United States · Georgia · 2024
EF0 tornado, DeKalb County, Georgia, December 29, 2024
This EF0 tornado ran 0.5 miles across DeKalb County on December 29, 2024, touching down at 4:46 AM EST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $200,000 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
- December 29, 2024
- Touchdown
- 4:46 AM EST (09:46 UTC)
- Lifted
- 4:47 AM EST (09:47 UTC)
- On the ground
- 1 minutes
- Path length
- 0.5 miles (0.8 km)
- Path width
- 100 yards (91 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $200,000
- County
- DeKalb County
- Touchdown point
- 33.940, -84.335
- Lift-off point
- 33.941, -84.327
- Record number
- 2412290346-01
The damage survey
31 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS FFC, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 95 mph.
- Small dogwood tree snapped
- Partial uproot of hardwood, branches broken higher up on another tree, which fell on the roof of a home.
- One hardwood tree uprooted with another partially uprooted
- Several trees uprooted with a few trunks snapped. Trees fell on the roof of one home and caused considerable structural damage to the roof, siding, and frame of another.
Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.
The warnings
No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down.
The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 06:54 UTC and running to 10:39 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06:54 UTC | 10:39 UTC | Tornado Watch | FFC |
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 Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:59 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.
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 00:00Z
9.8 hours before the tornado, 65 km from the path. December 29, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -87578 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 2 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 455 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 40 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 27 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 312 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 368 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.1
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 3.7 K/km
Peachtre/Fal Fld, GA (KFFC), 12:00Z
2.2 hours after it, 65 km from the path. December 29, 2024.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 0 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -43651 J/kg
- Surface CAPE
- 3 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 968 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 66 kt
- 0-1 km bulk shear
- 53 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- -172 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- -340 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
- 0-3 km lapse rate
- 5.1 K/km
The surface observations
Atlanta/Dekalb (PDK), 8 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07:50 UTC | 150° 9 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 07:53 UTC | 60 | 60 | 160° 8 kt | 16 | 1012.9 | |
| 07:55 UTC | 150° 8 kt | 1012.9 | ||||
| 08:00 UTC | 150° 7 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 08:05 UTC | 150° 8 kt | 1012.5 | ||||
| 08:10 UTC | 150° 7 kt | 1012.5 | -RA | |||
| 08:15 UTC | 150° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA BR | |||
| 08:20 UTC | 140° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA BR | |||
| 08:25 UTC | 160° 5 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |||
| 08:30 UTC | 60 | 60 | 140° 8 kt | 1011.9 | +RA BR | |
| 08:30 UTC | 140° 8 kt | 1011.9 | +RA BR | |||
| 08:35 UTC | 140° 8 kt | 1011.9 | +RA BR | |||
| 08:40 UTC | 130° 5 kt | 1011.9 | -RA BR | |||
| 08:42 UTC | 61 | 60 | 140° 8 kt | 15 | 1011.5 | -RA |
| 08:45 UTC | 140° 5 kt | 1011.5 | -RA | |||
| 08:50 UTC | 140° 7 kt | 1011.5 | -RA | |||
| 08:53 UTC | 61 | 60 | 140° 8 kt | 1011.2 | -RA | |
| 08:55 UTC | 140° 9 kt | 16 | 1011.2 | -RA BR | ||
| 09:00 UTC | 140° 8 kt | 1010.8 | -RA | |||
| 09:05 UTC | 140° 8 kt | 1010.5 | -RA | |||
| 09:10 UTC | 150° 10 kt | 15 | 1010.5 | -RA | ||
| 09:15 UTC | 160° 11 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 09:20 UTC | 150° 7 kt | 1010.5 | ||||
| 09:25 UTC | 150° 9 kt | 14 | 1010.2 | |||
| 09:30 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 09:35 UTC | 160° 10 kt | 19 | 1010.2 | |||
| 09:40 UTC | 160° 14 kt | 24 | 1010.2 | |||
| 09:45 UTC | 22 | 1011.9 | ||||
| 09:49 UTC | 62.6 | 60.8 | 250° 27 kt | 40 | 1012.9 | -TSRA BR |
| 09:50 UTC | 27 kt | 44 | 1012.9 | -RA BR | ||
| 09:53 UTC | 58 | 56 | 230° 20 kt | 46 | 1012.9 | +TSRA BR |
| 09:55 UTC | 19 kt | 29 | 1012.5 | +RA BR | ||
| 09:59 UTC | 58 | 56 | 230° 13 kt | 46 | 1012.2 | +TSRA BR |
| 10:00 UTC | 240° 11 kt | 16 | 1012.2 | +RA BR | ||
| 10:05 UTC | 230° 10 kt | 1012.2 | +RA BR | |||
| 10:07 UTC | 58 | 57 | 220° 9 kt | 21 | 1012.2 | +TSRA BR |
| 10:10 UTC | 210° 8 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |||
| 10:15 UTC | 190° 7 kt | 1012.2 | +RA BR | |||
| 10:20 UTC | 58 | 57 | 210° 8 kt | 1012.2 | +TSRA BR | |
| 10:20 UTC | 210° 8 kt | 1012.2 | +RA BR | |||
| 10:24 UTC | 57 | 57 | 210° 4 kt | 1011.9 | VCTS RA BR | |
| 10:25 UTC | 210° 4 kt | 1011.9 | RA BR | |||
| 10:30 UTC | 180° 5 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |||
| 10:34 UTC | 57 | 56 | 200° 7 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |
| 10:35 UTC | 200° 7 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |||
| 10:40 UTC | 190° 5 kt | 1011.9 | RA BR | |||
| 10:45 UTC | 200° 5 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |||
| 10:48 UTC | 57.2 | 55.4 | 210° 4 kt | 1012.2 | RA BR | |
| 10:50 UTC | 210° 4 kt | 1011.9 | RA BR | |||
| 10:53 UTC | 57 | 56 | 200° 3 kt | 1011.9 | RA BR | |
| 10:55 UTC | 210° 4 kt | 1011.9 | RA BR | |||
| 11:00 UTC | 170° 4 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:05 UTC | 210° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:10 UTC | 220° 4 kt | 1011.9 | -RA | |||
| 11:15 UTC | 220° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:20 UTC | 200° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:25 UTC | 200° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:30 UTC | 210° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:35 UTC | 190° 4 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:40 UTC | 190° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA | |||
| 11:45 UTC | 180° 5 kt | 1012.2 | -RA |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 68 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 09:47 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:54 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 S Lake Val-Do-Mar | Douglas, GA | A tree was downed onto I-20W at mile marker 27. Several vehicles hit the tree. |
| 08:58 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 N Winston | Douglas, GA | A tree and utility lines were downed on Cedar Mountain Rd at Mann Rd. |
| 09:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Wsw Brownsville | Paulding, GA | A tree fell on a vehicle (no injuries) and two trees were blocking the roadway. |
| 09:02 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Wsw Brownsville | Paulding, GA | Corrects previous tstm wnd dmg report from 3 WSW Brownsville. A tree fell on a vehicle (no injuries) and two trees were blocking the roadway at Rocky Ridge Dr and Bakers Bridge Rd. |
| 09:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ssw Bill Arp | Douglas, GA | Tree down on house on Avalon Dr. No injuries reported. |
| 09:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ene Brownsville | Cobb, GA | A tree fell through a house (no injuries). |
| 09:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ene Brownsville | Cobb, GA | Corrects previous tstm wnd dmg report from 2 ENE Brownsville. A tree fell through a house (no injuries) on Cowart Drive. |
| 09:10 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Se Hiram | Paulding, GA | A tree fell on a house (no injuries) on Bennett Road. |
| 09:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ssw Sweetwater Creek | Douglas, GA | A tree was downed across the roadway in the 1500 block of Riverside Pkwy. |
| 09:15 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Nne Campbellton | Douglas, GA | A tree was downed on Fairburn Road at Mountain Drive. |
| 09:15 UTC | TORNADO | 3 Nne Campbellton | Douglas, GA | *** 1 INJ *** A brief EF 1 tornado touched down near Britt and Fairburn Rd and traveled northeast for around one quarter of a mile. A large tree fell on and destroyed a home on Fairburn Rd, injuring one of the occupants. |
| 09:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Sweetwater Creek | Douglas, GA | A tree was downed across the southbound lanes of Thornton Rd at Riverside Pkwy. |
| 09:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Marietta | Cobb, GA | A tree fell across the road on Forest Avenue NE at N. Forest Avenue NE. |
| 09:37 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nne Sandy Plains | Cobb, GA | Several homes were damaged by fallen trees at Corral Drive and Bridal Path. |
| 09:40 UTC | TORNADO | 1 Nne Sandy Plains | Cobb, GA | *** 2 INJ *** A brief EF 1 tornado caused numerous trees to fall on approximately a dozen homes along Corral Drive. A large pine tree fell on a home and caused two injuries. Estimated peak wind 95 mph. Path length .26 mi |
| 09:40 UTC | TORNADO | 1 N Sandy Plains | Cobb, GA | *** 2 INJ *** Corrects previous tornado report from 1 NNE Sandy Plains. A brief EF-1 tornado damaged approximately two dozen homes from numerous large trees that fell on them. The worst damage occurred on Corral Dr. One |
| 09:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 S Mountain Park | Fulton, GA | A tree was blown down in the 11800 block of Wildwood Springs Drive. |
| 09:42 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nne Acworth | Cherokee, GA | Tree down at James Rd and Jacobs Rd. |
| 09:43 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Ssw Dunwoody | Dekalb, GA | A tree fell onto the eastbound lanes of Perimeter Center West. |
| 09:44 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Mountain Park | Fulton, GA | A tree fell into the roadway in the 700 block of Brookfield Pkwy. |
| 09:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Mountain Park | Fulton, GA | A tree fell into the roadway in the 800 block of Oakhaven Drive. |
| 09:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 S Dunwoody | Dekalb, GA | A tree fell across the westbound lane of Valley View Road near Valley View Court. |
| 09:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Se Dunwoody | Dekalb, GA | Multiple trees were downed onto power lines on Chamblee Dunwoody Rd near Valley View Rd. |
| 09:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Roswell | Fulton, GA | A tree fell across the 1000 block of Jones Road. |
| 09:45 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 E Mountain Park | Fulton, GA | A tree fell across the roadway in the 900 block of Water Grove Court. |
| 09:46 UTC | TORNADO | Dunwoody | Dekalb, GA | A brief EF 0 tornado damaged approximately 10 homes and one apartment unit, where the roof was partially ripped off by 85 mph winds. Approximately 50 to 100 large trees and several power poles were snapped or uprooted, f |
| 09:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 E Dunwoody | Dekalb, GA | Several trees were downed on Womack Road. |
| 09:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ese Roswell | Fulton, GA | A tree was blown down into the roadway in the 300 block of Grimes Bridge Rd. |
| 09:47 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ne Dunwoody | Fulton, GA | Multiple trees down on the property. |
| 09:50 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 4 Ese Roswell | Fulton, GA | A tree fell across the roadway in the 9000 block of Scott Road. |
| 10:08 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Ssw Buford Dam-Lake L | Gwinnett, GA | A tree was downed on Kimberly Beth Pl at Emerald Pkwy. |
| 10:11 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 W Centerville | Gwinnett, GA | A power line was downed at the intersection of Annistown Rd and San Antonio Dr. |
| 10:12 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Wsw Snellville | Gwinnett, GA | A tree was downed at the intersection of Stone Mountain Hwy at Georgia Lane. |
| 10:14 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 3 Wnw Lawrenceville | Gwinnett, GA | A tree was downed on McKendree Church Rd at River Centre Place. |
| 10:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nne Rosebud | Gwinnett, GA | A tree was downed on Rosebud Rd at Virgil Moon Rd. |
| 10:20 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Se Lake Lanier Island | Hall, GA | 2 trees down across roadways along southern shores of Lake Lanier in Buford. |
| 10:28 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Nw Oakwood | Hall, GA | Powerline down across roadway on 4800 block of Holiday Villa Dr. |
| 10:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 1 Nnw Road Atlanta-Lani | Hall, GA | Tree down across roadway on 4200 block of Benefield Rd. |
| 10:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Sse Candler | Hall, GA | Tree down across roadway at intersection of Candler Rd and McEver Lake Rd. |
| 10:35 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 Ssw Flowery Branch | Hall, GA | Powerline down across roadway at intersection of Wade Orr Rd and Mount Salem Cir. |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2024 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are
The other tornadoes of December 29, 2024
30 more were confirmed in the United States that day.
| Date | Time | Rating | Where | Path (mi) | Width (yd) | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 29 | 12:11 AM CST | EF1 | Shelby, AL | 1.5 | 175 | |||
| December 29 | 12:15 AM CST | EF0 | Lowndes, AL | 5.7 | 450 | 2 | ||
| December 29 | 12:25 AM CST | EF0 | St. Clair, AL | 2.3 | 150 | |||
| December 29 | 12:30 AM CST | EF1 | St. Clair, AL | 1.5 | 325 | |||
| December 29 | 12:39 AM CST | EF0 | Lowndes, AL | 0.9 | 100 | |||
| December 29 | 12:40 AM CST | EF0 | Montgomery, AL | 0.3 | 100 | |||
| December 29 | 12:43 AM CST | EF1 | Montgomery, AL | 3.9 | 250 | |||
| December 29 | 12:47 AM CST | EF1 | Baldwin, AL | 2.4 | 50 | |||
| December 29 | 12:53 AM CST | EF1 | Montgomery, AL | 10.0 | 500 | |||
| December 29 | 1:11 AM CST | EF0 | Montgomery, AL | 2.5 | 100 | |||
| December 29 | 1:18 AM CST | EF0 | Macon, AL | 2.6 | 175 | |||
| December 29 | 1:18 AM CST | EF0 | Macon, AL | 5.5 | 200 | |||
| December 29 | 1:30 AM CST | EF0 | Macon, AL | 2.8 | 100 | |||
| December 29 | 1:31 AM CST | EF0 | Macon, AL | 0.8 | 50 | |||
| December 29 | 3:54 AM EST | EF1 | Meriwether, GA | 24.6 | 200 | $6.0 million | ||
| December 29 | 4:15 AM EST | EF1 | Douglas, GA | 0.3 | 100 | 1 | $30,000 | |
| December 29 | 4:22 AM EST | EF0 | Meriwether, GA | 3.2 | 100 | $100,000 | ||
| December 29 | 4:38 AM EST | EF0 | Fayette, GA | 1.6 | 100 | $10,000 | ||
| December 29 | 4:40 AM EST | EF1 | Cobb, GA | 0.3 | 100 | 2 | $50,000 | |
| December 29 | 7:55 AM EST | EF0 | Spartanburg, SC | 1.7 | 30 | |||
| December 29 | 8:13 AM EST | EF0 | Polk, NC | 1.0 | 75 | |||
| December 29 | 8:14 AM EST | EF0 | Union, SC | 2.2 | 30 | |||
| December 29 | 8:27 AM EST | EF0 | Union, SC | 7.0 | 50 | |||
| December 29 | 8:28 AM EST | EF0 | Union, SC | 2.2 | 25 | |||
| December 29 | 8:35 AM EST | EF0 | Fairfield, SC | 11.2 | 150 | |||
| December 29 | 8:52 AM EST | EF0 | Fairfield, SC | 3.3 | 200 | |||
| December 29 | 8:56 AM EST | EF1 | Fairfield, SC | 4.7 | 250 | |||
| December 29 | 9:09 AM EST | EF0 | York, SC | 3.0 | 50 | |||
| December 29 | 9:21 AM EST | EF0 | Mecklenburg, NC | 1.7 | 20 | |||
| December 29 | 3:08 PM EST | EF0 | Union, OH | 0.3 | 50 | $15,000 |
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.