Peachtree City, GA

Weather Forecast Office

March 19, 2018 Tornadoes and Severe Weather

March 19, 2018 Tornadoes and Severe Weather:

Overview:

Severe thunderstorms affected portions of north and central Georgia from the evening of March 19th into the early morning hours of March 20th. A warm front was draped across north Georgia as a low pressure system passed to the north of the state. As an upper disturbance moved into the region, supercell thunderstorms developed across northern Alabama and pushed into Georgia by late evening. With strong wind shear in place, rotating thunderstorms produced tornadoes, hail, and wind damage across Alabama and Georgia. In Georgia, three tornadoes were confirmed. Two EF-1 tornadoes affected Haralson County, and one EF-2 tornado caused substantial damage in a south Fulton County neighborhood. The first EF-1 tornado in Haralson County was a continuation of a long-track tornado from eastern Alabama. Additional hail and wind reports were scattered across the area.

Surface Map (3/19, 11 PM)

The surface analysis shows a warm front draped across north Georgia ahead of an approaching surface low.

500 mb analysis (3/19, 11 PM)

An upper trough helped spark thunderstorm development.

MUCAPE (3/19, 11 PM)

Moderate instability was in place behind the warm front across much of the state.

0-3 Helicity (3/19, 11 PM)

High helicity values favored rotating supercells.

The Storm Prediction Center outlook on March 19th highlighted a Moderate (Red) and Enhanced (Orange) Risk for severe weather across much of north Georgia with a Slight (Yellow) Risk for the remainder of the state.


A number of severe thunderstorm (yellow) and tornado warnings (red) were issued as severe thunderstorms swept through Georgia.	A significant number of wind, hail, and tornado damage reports were received on the evening of March 19th into early morning of March 20th.

Severe thunderstorms entered western Georgia from Alabama late on the evening of March 19th.

Tornadoes:

Haralson County Tornado #1:

Note: This tornado is a continued track of the tornado that affected Jacksonville, AL earlier on the evening of March 19th. The following information details only the Georgia portion of the tornado damage survey. For the Alabama portion of the track, please refer to the page from NWS Birmingham.

This tornado moved into Georgia at 10:14 PM EDT along Broad Street where several trees were snapped or uprooted along the road. One large oak tree fell onto a home 1/4 of a mile from the state line, causing extensive damage to the structure. Other snapped and fallen trees in this area accounted for the highest wind speed estimate of 95 mph for this tornado, an EF-1 rating (for the Georgia portion of the track). The tornado then quickly dissipated after a surge within the rear-flank downdraft caused the storm to occlude. The last observed damage caused by this tornado was along Edger Lane Circle between Broad Street and Womack Road.

After the tornado dissipated, extensive damage to hundreds of trees was observed along Broad Street and Highway 120 (among other locations in the area). This damage was caused by two strong downbursts within the rear-flank downdraft as the supercell occluded and not by the aforementioned tornado.

Damage Path - Haralson County

County	Rating	# of Injuries	KML
Haralson	EF-1	0

Rating:	EF-1
Peak Wind:	95 MPH
Path Length:	1.0 mile
Path Width:	400 yards
Fatalities:	0
Injuries:	0
Start Date:	March 19, 2018
Start Time:	10:14 PM EDT
Start Location:	4.7 miles WNW of Tallapoosa
Start Lat/Lon:	33.773952 / -85.361715
End Date:	March 19, 2018
End Time:	10:15 PM EDT
End Location:	2.8 miles WNW of Tallapoosa
End Lat/Lon:	33.775950 / -85.344136


This mobile home was heavily damaged b a large falling tree.	Falling trees caused significant damage to this home.


Reflectivity (10:14 PM EDT)	Velocity (10:14 PM EDT)

Haralson County Tornado #2:

A short-lived, though impactful, tornado caused damage on the western side of Buchanan on the evening of March 19th. The tornado formed on the backside of an occluding, cyclic supercell which had a history of producing strong tornadoes in Alabama. After moving into Georgia, multiple downbursts within the rear-flank downdraft caused extensive straight-line wind damage, primarily along Broad Street and Highway 120. As the supercell began to occlude, a tornado formed on the northern side of Buchanan and took a southerly, cyclonically-curved track for approximately 1.4 miles.

The tornado touched down near the New Vision Church Cemetery at 10:25 PM, snapping or uprooting small trees at it traveled south-southwest. Around 10:26 PM, the tornado grew in size to approximately 500 yards as it crossed Highway 120 just west of Business Highway 24. At this point several very large trees were snapped or uprooted. 90 mph wind speeds were estimated based on the damage observed, making the tornado a low-end EF-1. Just south of Highway 120 on Tallapoosa Street, a large tree fell onto a home, seriously injuring two people inside. The tornado then continued south-southeast, snapping or uprooting several more small trees before dissipating at around 10:27 PM just west of Business Highway 24 between Jeffers Street and Macedonia Church Road.

Damage Path - Haralson County

County	Rating	# of Injuries	KML
Haralson	EF-1	2

Rating:	EF-1
Peak Wind:	90 MPH
Path Length:	1.4 miles
Path Width:	500 yards
Fatalities:	0
Injuries:	2
Start Date:	March 19, 2018
Start Time:	10:25 PM EDT
Start Location:	0.7 miles north of Buchanan
Start Lat/Lon:	33.811526 / -85.192399
End Date:	March 19, 2018
End Time:	10:27 PM EDT
End Location:	0.7 miles south of Buchanan
End Lat/Lon:	33.791592 / -85.188838


A huge tree crashed into this home, causing injuries to two residents inside.	Large uprooted trees such as this one were common around the Buchanan area.


Reflectivity (10:26 PM EDT)	Velocity (10:26 PM EDT)

South Fulton County Tornado:

A very brief, but strong, tornado touched down in the city of South Fulton between Fairburn and Campbellton late on the evening of March 19th. Much of the damage was to two-story residential homes in the Chestnut Ridge neighborhood. More than 50 homes sustained some degree of visible damage with at least half of those homes receiving significant damage. The worst of the damage occurred along Jumpers Trail between Jodhpur Road and Suffolk Lane. In this small area, numerous homes had large sections of the roof removed along with large piece of the exterior walls (mainly on one or two sides). Based on this consistent structural damage, the tornado earned its EF-2 rating with maximum winds estimated around 120 mph. Large trees running along the north and east areas of the neighborhood were also snapped or uprooted.

As quickly as the tornado developed it dissipated as the supercell tracked eastward across Highway 92 just north of Jones Road. East of Highway 92 in a separate neighborhood, one home lost part of its rood, and several homes along Winstar Lane lost shingles or small pieces of siding. Just past this location, no further damage was observed. The tornado end point was around 1/2 mile from the start location.

Damage Path - Fulton County

County	Rating	# of Injuries	KML
Fulton	EF-2	0

Rating:	EF-2
Peak Wind:	120 MPH
Path Length:	0.5 miles
Path Width:	315 yards
Fatalities:	0
Injuries:	0
Start Date:	March 19, 2018
Start Time:	11:11 PM EDT
Start Location:	4.5 miles NW of Fairburn
Start Lat/Lon:	33.622599 / -84.625235
End Date:	March 19, 2018
End Time:	11:14 PM EDT
End Location:	5.9 miles NNW of Fairburn
End Lat/Lon:	33.626745 / -84.617553


These homes along Jumpers Trail sustained significant structural damage.	Sections of roof and exterior walls were removed from these homes.


The large portions of roof and exterior walls removed from this home was indicative of EF-2 damage.	Here is another view of the significant damage caused to this home in the Chestnut Ridge neighborhood.


Reflectivity (11:12 PM EDT)	Velocity (11:12 PM EDT)

Damaging Winds: Haralson County Damaging Event #1: This straight line wind damage is associated with the same storm that spawned the two tornado events in Haralson County on the evening of March 19. Close examination of both radar and damage patterns on the ground suggest strong rear flank downdraft (RFD) winds surged into Georgia overtaking the long-track tornado (Haralson Tornado #1) and causing it to occlude and dissipate. These straight line winds surged in south of the tornado track and paralleled Broad Street from the Alabama/Georgia state line eastward into the northern sections of Tallapoosa. On the order of thousands of trees were downed in a roughly two-mile-wide swath, some of which fell onto homes or other sructures in and west of Tallapoosa. The maximum winds of 90-95 mph derived from a more instense corridor of wind which uprooted and snapped trees in a swatch extending from Edgar Bell Road across George Green Road before spreading out across Broad Street and Mount Zion Church Road. A secondary surge of wind was noted on both radar and confirmed on the ground as it moved in from the west-northwest and paralleled Highway 120 between Tallapoosa and Buchanan. Hundreds to thousands of trees were uprooted or snapped primarily along the south side of the highway. That RFD originated along and east of Highway 100 and maximized east of Tallapoosa Primary School eastward along the southern side of Highway 120. Maximum winds in this swatch were estimated at 80-85 mph. All wind damage noted along and north of Highway 78 to Highway 120 and Broad Street is classified as straight line wind damage associated with the RFD.

Haralson County Damaging Wind #1:
Estimated Peak Wind:	90-95 mph
Swath Length:	Approx. 8 miles
Swath Width:	1.75 miles
Fatalities:	0
Injuries:	0
Start Date:	March 19, 2018
Start Time:	10:14 PM EDT
Start Location:	4.3 miles NW of Tallapoosa
Start Lat/Lon:	33.7654 / -85.3597
End Date:	March 19, 2018
End Time:	10:22 PM EDT
End Location:	2.75 miles SW of Buchanan
End Lat/Lon:	33.7646 / -85.2089


Numerous trees were downed along this roadway.	Numerous large trees were downed across the area affected by the damaging winds.

Haralson County Damaging Event #2: This straight line wind damage is associated with the same storm that spawned the two tornado events in Haralson County on March 19. Close examination of borth radar and damage patterns on the ground suggest strong forward flank downdraft (FFD) winds surged southeast and paralleled Highway 27 to the north of Buchanan a few minutes after the tornado struck the town. Highway 27 curves to the southeast as it approaches Buchanan from the north and sits in a valley as it progresses southeastward. The forward flank winds appear to have funneled into this valley as all pine trees on both sides of Highway 27 were blown down facing southeast; however, trees on top of the small ridge on either side of the highway were not affected. None of the trees were snapped. Rather, all were uprooted, suggesting winds were in the 80-85 mph range. This damage extended northwest into Old Jacksonville Highway and Lake Circle Road region. Other sporadic tree damage was noted throughout Haralson County along and north of Jacksonville Road. This damage is associated with forward flank downdraft winds associated with the same supercell thunderstorm that spawned the tornado and other wind damage in the county.

Haralson County Damaging Wind #1:
Estimated Peak Wind:	80-85 mph
Swath Length:	2.75 miles
Swath Width:	650 yards
Fatalities:	0
Injuries:	0
Start Date:	March 19, 2018
Start Time:	10:32 PM EDT
Start Location:	2.0 miles north of Buchanan
Start Lat/Lon:	33.8222 / -85.2129
End Date:	March 19, 2018
End Time:	10:35 PM EDT
End Location:	1.5 miles east of Buchanan
End Lat/Lon:	33.8062 / -85.2128


Numerous trees were downed alongside Highway 27.	Numerous trees were downed alongside Highway 27.