Greensboro, Georgia

... Preliminary report on severe weather event which occurred during
the early morning hours of may 11 2008...

Several damage survey teams from the National Weather Service office
in Peachtree City have now confirmed that at least five tornadoes
affected west central... north central... and central Georgia early
this morning. Here is the information we have so far.

Note... location of tornado no. 5... Laurens County... corrected from
southwest to northwest of Dublin.

Tornadoes no. 1 and 2 (rated ef2):
Carroll and Douglas counties/410 am EDT...

Widespread 25-mile long path of damage... up to three miles wide at
some spots... beginning in western Carroll County at approximately
410 am... starting along west Jonesville Road off Georgia Highway
166... just north of Bowden... continuing eastward roughly along
Georgia Highway 166 through Carrollton and eastward into western
Douglas County near Fairplay. There were two brief EF2 tornado
spinups along this path of damage... which was up to three miles wide
at points. The path length and width of each of these tornadoes was
100 yards or less. Maximum wind speeds within these tornadoes were
estimated at 110 mph. The first EF2 tornado spinup occurred within
the the community of Jonesville approximately two miles east of
where the wind damage commenced. The roofs were completely blown off
two homes and numerous trees were down in the area. The second EF2
tornado spinup occurred near Diamond court subdivision... off Cross
Plains Hulett Road. Damage here consisted of two homes with
significant damage... one completely destroyed... and a number of
homes with minor to moderate roof damage.

Outside the two EF2 tornadoes... widespread tree and roof damage from
straight-line winds was noted all along Georgia Highway 166 from
west of Carrollton... near Bowden... eastward to western Douglas
County near Fairplay. The Carrollton County emergency services
facility sustained moderate damage. Damage continued eastward along
Georgia Highway 166 toward the Douglas County line... mainly in the
form of downed trees and minor roof damage all along the path. At
various locations along this path... damage extended up to three
miles to the south... but this was determined to be straight-line
wind damage.

The damage from this straight-line wind event... and possible
additional spinup tornadoes..may well have continued into South
Fulton County. In addition... this parent thunderstorm appears to be
the same one that spawned the EF2 tornado in Clayton County. This
will be determined with additional surveys early this week.


Tornado no. 3 (rated ef2):
Clayton... Henry... Rockdale and Newton counties/510 am EDT...

Initial touchdown was in extreme northeast Clayton County near the
Henry County line just east of Interstate 675 around 510 am. On
initial touch down... it took the second floor off a house and did
significant damage to other homes in that area. This tornado lifted
shortly after moving east into Henry County and did sporadic tree
damage. As it moved into Rockdale County... it moved southeast toward
Union Springs and then into Newton County near Highway 20 where it
lifted. The approximate strength was EF2 (120 to 130 mph) at
touchdown... then diminished to an EF0 for the remainder of the
track. The approximate width was around 100 yards wide and total
path length was about 13 miles long.


Tornado no. 4 (rated ef2):
Bibb and Twiggs counties/550 am EDT...

Initial touchdown was near Lizella. The tornado tracked east and
lifted near Dry Branch in Twiggs County. This was not a continuous
path... but it did produce sporadic major damage from Lizella to Dry
Branch with widespread straightline wind damage associated with the
squall line. The most significant damage was in the city of Macon
with the hardest hit areas along eisenhower parkway an pio nono
Avenue where 2 businesses were destroyed and several others
sustaining heavy damage. Macon State College was also hit by the
tornado... snapping or uprooting 50 percent or more of the trees and
doing significant damage to several buildings on Campus with the
gymnasium sustaining the worst damage. This tornado varied from an
EF0 to EF2 with the EF2 (130 mph) near the intersection of
eisenhower parkway and pio nono Avenue.


Tornado no. 5 (rated ef2):
Laurens County/636 am EDT...

*** one death... one critical injury... two non-critical injuries ***

Initial touchdown occurred at the intersection of old Macon Road and
Oscar Wynn Road as an EF0... the tornado continued on an almost due
eastward track and strengthened to an EF2 tornado as it crossed U.S.
Highway 441 in the 2700 block... about seven miles northwest of
Dublin... near the intersection of Evergreen Road and U.S. Highway
441. A double-wide Mobile home was destroyed at 2731 U.S. Highway
441... where a male in his early 50s was killed. His wife remains in
critical condition. Their two grandchildren sustained non-life
threatening injuries. Another home was damage along Evergreen Road
as the tornado continued at EF2 intensity. Sporadic damage to trees
continued further eastward... but the tornado weakened to an EF0 as
it crossed the Oconee river. The tornado once again strengthened to
an EF2 as it crossed Buckeye Road in the 2100 block... and then
weakened to an EF1 as it crossed new Buckeye Road in the 1500
block. EF2 damage to a home was observed at 2185 Buckeye Road... and
EF1 damage to another home at 1533 Buckeye Road. The majority of
the tornado path was ranked as EF0 tornado damage. The path length
of the tornado was approximately nine miles... with a maximum path
width of 250 yards as it crossed U.S. 441 near Evergreen Road.

All together... there were two Mobile homes destroyed... six other
homes with major damage... some shifted off their foundations... at
least one with its roof missing... and many with minor roof or siding
damage. Numerous sheds and outbuildings were destroyed. Many trees
were either uprooted or snapped off along the path of the tornado.
In addition... widespread non-tornadic wind damage was reported
throughout much of the County... all the way from the Twiggs County
line on the west side to the Johnson County line on the east side.


Tornado no. 6 (ef scale unknown):
Toombs County/725 am EDT...

this tornado has not yet been rated. The damage path was limited to
about 1/4 of a mile in the Normantown area about four miles north of
Vidalia. Damage included four Mobile homes damaged... one Mobile home
destroyed... one house destroyed... and one church destroyed. It also
turned over a tractor-tailer and put down approximately 200 to 300
Pine trees. There were three minor injuries and seven families have
been displaced from their homes.



Additional tornadoes may have occurred in
Johnson... Treutlen... Fulton... and Troup counties. Damage survey
teams will continue to investigate these areas Monday. This report
will continue to be updated as soon as the information from these
surveys becomes available.