EF1 tornado, Jeffersonville, Georgia, March 12, 2026

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, as surveyed

EF1, preliminary

Date

March 12, 2026

Touchdown

7:25 AM EDT (11:25 UTC)

Lifted

7:29 AM EDT (11:29 UTC)

On the ground

4 minutes

Path length

3.2 miles (5.2 km)

Path width

400 yards (366 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Twiggs County

Touchdown point

32.638, -83.398

Lift-off point

32.631, -83.343

Highest wind the damage implies

105 mph

Surveyed by

NWS FFC

Survey last edited

March 21, 2026

Record number

None yet. SPC numbers 2026 in the spring of 2027.

As the line of thunderstorms continued into east-central Georgia, a tornado developed in central Twiggs county, several miles to the southwest of the city of Jeffersonville at 7:25 AM EDT. A tornado debris signature was observed from the KJGX radar at this time. The first discernable damage was observed along I-16 Westbound, where a tree was snapped and another was uprooted to the immediate north of the interstate. The tornado continued east, snapping several pine trees at the end of Green Rd. Continuing to the south of Green Rd, it then crossed Hwy 96 where another pine tree was snapped. Between 7:27 and 7:28 AM EDT it uprooted a few trees near the intersection of Missile Base Rd and Prospect Church Rd. The most significant damage was observed in a field on the north side of Prospect Church Rd and across from Missile Base Rd and Hamlin Floyd Rd. Here, as many as 30-40 large trees were uprooted, with several hardwood trees also snapped in the midst of these uprooted trees. As the tornado continued eastward, it snapped a couple more pine trees on the north side of Prospect Church Rd. The last damage observed was to the west of Tommie Thompson, with the tornado appearing to have lifted by 7:29 AM.

Written by NWS FFC in the NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit. A survey is revised as better evidence arrives.

26 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 105 mph.

• Pine tree snapped, with about 5 other pine trees uprooted within a few yards.
• Several hardwood trees uprooted, facing different directions
• Large uprooted hardwoods within a few yards
• 2 small pine trees snapped, tossed about 25 feet

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

A strong cold front and associated QLCS system moved through central Georgia in the early morning hours of the 12th. Storms within the line were able to produce a few spots of wind damage, however the main hazard ended up being the numerous short lived and brief spin-up tornados which occurred in central Georgia. The strongest tornado was an EF2 near Marshallville.

As the line of thunderstorms continued into east-central Georgia, a tornado developed in central Twiggs county, several miles to the southwest of the city of Jeffersonville at 7:25 AM EDT. A tornado debris signature was observed from the KJGX radar at this|time. The first discernible damage was observed along I-16 Westbound, where a tree was snapped and another was uprooted to the immediate north of the interstate. The tornado continued east, snapping several pine trees at the end of Green Rd. Continuing to the south of Green Rd, it then crossed Hwy 96 where another pine tree was snapped. Between 7:27 and 7:28 AM EDT it uprooted a few trees near the intersection of Missile Base Rd and Prospect Church Rd. The most significant damage was observed in a|field on the north side of Prospect Church Rd and across from Missile Base Rd and Hamlin Floyd Rd. Here, as many as 30-40 large trees were uprooted, with several hardwood trees also snapped in the midst of these uprooted trees. As the tornado continued eastward, it snapped a couple more pine trees on the north side of Prospect Church Rd. The last damage observed was to the west of Tommie Thompson, with the tornado appearing to have lifted by 7:29 AM.

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

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 04:33 UTC and running to 13:00 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 Marginal Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 05:31 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.

Warner Robins Afb (WRB), 21 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Robins AFB radar (KJGX), 5 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 11:26 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 2026 tornado in GeorgiaEvery tornado in Georgia since 1950Warnings in force in Georgia nowThe forecast where you are

22 more have been surveyed in the United States that day, so far.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. A survey can be revised, so the rating, the path and the casualties can all still change.

NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit, the record the survey teams file from the damage, and NOAA Storm Prediction Center storm reports. Neither is the official database for 2026, which SPC publishes in the spring of 2027.