National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

 

A late-March severe weather outbreak was caused by a strong storm system that lifted northeast from the Mississippi Valley into the Tennessee Valley on March 25-26, 2021. The combination of strong shear and instability led to favorable conditions for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes from the afternoon of Thursday, March 25th into the early morning of Friday, March 26th. 

 

The most significant event was a long-track tornado that intensified to EF-4 intensity as it moved into Newnan in Coweta County shortly after midnight on March 26th. This tornado was the first EF-4 tornado in Georgia since 2011 and was spawned by a supercell thunderstorm that had tracked across Alabama before reaching the Georgia border. In addition, 2 other EF-1 tornadoes touched down in Bartow County, and a strong downburst with winds over 100 mph impacted Polk County. Scattered strong wind and hail as well as flash flooding affected other portions of the area.

Preliminary Survey Information: 

(click Location for Detailed Survey)

Location of Tornado / Downburst

EF-Scale Rating/

Maximum Wind Speed

Fatalities/   Injuries

Damage Path Length/Max Width Start Point/ Time

End Point/   Time

Heard, Coweta, and Fayette Counties

EF-4

170 mph

1 Fatality

0 Injuries

38.9 miles long   

1850 yards (1.05 miles) wide

1 NNE Texas (Heard County)

33.2533 / -85.1895

11:37 PM EDT (March 25)

3 SE Tyrone (Fayette County)

33.4455 / -84.5624

12:30 AM EDT (March 26)

Cartersville 

EF-1

95 mph

5 Injuries

2.85 miles long

200 yards wide

2 SE Cassville

34.213 / -84.833

11:55 PM EDT (March 25)

3 E Cassville

34.2397 / -84.7971

12:00 AM EDT (March 26)

Southern Bartow County

EF-1

95 mph

0

1.7 miles long

125 yards wide

1 NW Taylorsville

34.092 / -84.9943

9:08 PM EDT (March 25)

2 NE Taylorsville 

34.1025 / -84.9679

9:10 PM EDT (March 25)

Polk County Downburst 105 mph 0 5.5 square miles

1 SSE Cedartown

33.9948 / -85.2466

12:32 PM EDT (March 25)

2 E Cedartown 

 

12:38 PM EDT (March 25)

Storm Prediction Center (SPC) Convective Outlooks

Initial Day 1 Convective Outlook Initial Day 1 Tornado Probabilities

Initial Day 1 Wind Probabilities 
 

Convective Outlook, 4 PM Update Tornado Probabilities, 4 PM Update

Wind Probabilities, 4 PM Update
 
Local Storm Reports, March 25-26:

 - Tornado Report

 - Wind Damage Report

 - Flooding Report

 - Hail Report

 - Lightning Damage Report

 
 

Surface Analysis:

8 AM EDT, March 25th 11 AM EDT, March 25th
 

2 PM EDT, March 25th 5 PM EDT, March 25th
 

8 PM EDT, March 25th 11 PM EDT, March 25th
 

2 AM EDT, March 26th
 
Upper Air Maps:

250 mb analysis, 8 AM  500 mb analysis, 8 AM

850 mb analysis, 8 AM
 

250 mb analysis, 8 PM 500 mb analysis, 8 PM

850 mb analysis, 8 PM