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012 NOUS42 KFFC 052152 PNSFFC GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-061000- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 452 PM EST Tue Mar 5 2019 ...UPDATE #3 FROM NWS DAMAGE SURVEYS INCLUDING THE LONG-TRACK TORNADO WHICH TRAVERSED FROM MACON AND LEE COUNTIES IN ALABAMA THROUGH MUSCOGEE, HARRIS AND TALBOTTON COUNTIES IN GEORGIA... SYNOPSIS: A powerful storm system moved across the mid-south and southeast states on Sunday, March 3, producing widespread severe weather and tornadoes. In middle Georgia, significant damage from suspected tornadoes occurred and were in the process of being surveyed by NWS meteorologists. This report will list individual tornado events in chronological order. Please note that this report will be updated frequently in the next several days as more surveys and information become available. .NOTE...The following Preliminary Damage Survey Summary is a joint statement from WFO Birmingham and WFO Peachtree City covering the surveys of the long-track tornado which was on the ground from Beauregard, AL to Talbotton, GA. .Beauregard/Smith's Station/Ellerslie/Talbotton Tornado (Complete Tornado Path)... Rating: EF-4 Estimated Peak Wind: 170 mph Path Length (Statute): 68.8 miles Path Width (Maximum): 1600 yards Fatalities: 23 Injuries: 97 Start Date: 03/03/2019 Start Time: 2:00 PM CST Start Location: 3.0 miles NW of Society Hill, AL Start Lat/Lon: 32.4472 / -85.4818 End Date: 03/03/2019 End Time: 4:16 PM EST End Location: 10.5 miles ENE of Talbotton, GA End Lat/Lon: 32.7452 / -84.3697 .Beauregard to Smith's Station Tornado (Macon & Lee Counties in Alabama)... Rating: EF-4 Estimated Peak Wind: 170 mph Path Length (Statute): 26.8 miles Path Width (Maximum): 1600 yards Fatalities: 23 Injuries: 90 Start Date: 03/03/2019 Start Time: 2:00 PM CST Start Location: 3.0 miles NW of Society Hill, AL Start Lat/Lon: 32.4472 / -85.4818 End Date: 03/03/2019 End Time: 2:29 PM CST End Location: 3.0 miles NE of Smith's Station, AL End Lat/Lon: 32.5750 / -85.0570 .Ellerslie to Talbotton Tornado (Muscogee, Harris, & Talbot Counties in Georgia)... Rating: EF-3 Estimated Peak Wind: 140 mph Path Length (Statute): 42.0 miles Path Width (Maximum): 750 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 7 Start Date: 03/03/2019 Start Time: 3:29 PM EST Start Location: 3 miles NE of Smith's Station, AL Start Lat/Lon: 32.5750 / -85.0570 End Date: 03/03/2019 End Time: 4:16 PM EST End Location: 10.5 miles ENE of Talbotton, GA End Lat/Lon: 32.7452 / -84.3697 Survey Summary: .NWS Birmingham... The tornado touched down just southwest of Rogers Road and just northeast of U.S. Highway 80 in northeast Macon County. Initially some small limbs were broken off of trees along with some pine trees uprooted. The tornado then moved east across Calloway Baker Road and across Glassy Mill Road where more pine trees were uprooted. The tornado began to strengthen as it moved further east crossing Macon County Highway 43 as it downed additional pine trees then crossed the county line into southwest Lee County. The tornado crossed Lee County Road 29 where the tornado removed the roof and nearly collapsed a quarter of the cinder block walls of a church along with uprooting several trees. The tornado continued to intensify as it moved north of due east crossing Lee County Road 11 where it peeled back sheet metal off of the porch of a home and ripped some sheet metal off of two outdoor storage sheds and continued to uproot pine trees. Debris from structures and their contents were strewn along a tree line to the east of their original location and some evidence of weak ground rowing was observed along the surface tornado path. The tornado reached its peak intensity just south of the intersection of Lee County Road 36 and Lee County Road 39 where it rolled a manufactured home and emptied its contents nearby on the northern side of the track while additional damage toward the southern portion of the track included the complete destruction of a house with all debris tossed a short distance from the foundation. The tornado bent the frame of a car around the remnant of a large tree whose upper portion had broken off and totaled three vehicles by severe impacts into the bases of two remaining tree stubs. Further east on the other side of the small lake, a well-anchored and constructed home was leveled with debris removed from the foundation and anchored bolt screws remaining intact. Toward the northern edge of the tornado, the destruction of two double-wide and a single-wide manufactured home was surveyed. This was the peak intensity of the tornado due to the combination of damage to the two houses along with extensive severe tree damage including trees snapped at their bases and large trees with expansive root systems fallen along with some sporadic evidence of ground rowing. The tornado began to decrease in intensity as it continued east roughly paralleling Lee County Road 39 where two manufactured homes were destroyed with most debris deposited away from the original location and both of the metal frames of the mobile homes could not be located. Another manufactured home was destroyed with its contents deposited in a swath from the site into the remains of a nearby tree line. A car was found in an overturned position against a hardy tree stripped of most limbs with a mattress from a bed wrapped around the mid portion of the tree. A badly mangled metal frame of a manufactured home and debris displaced nearby was all that remained of one residence. Nearby a tractor trailer rig was on its side and shoved around a sturdy tree while a nearby site-built home lost nearly all of its exterior walls with debris remaining on or near the home site. Severe tree destruction continued into this area with trees snapped at their bases and uprooted. To the north of Lee County Road 39 significant debris were deposited in the wooded area where the tornado performed significant timber damage and toppled at least one high-tension power line tower visible in the near distance. After demolishing two double-wide and a single-wide manufactured home the tornado moved northeast and crossed Lee County Road 51 just north of the intersection with Lee County Road 39 where double-wide manufactured home was moved off of its base and the exterior walls collapsed on a family residence while tree damage continued with snaps at the bases of trees. Some weakening occurred further east as the tornado crossed Lee County Road 38 where it deposited a large amount of debris into a ragged forested area. The tornado moved slightly north of due east, crossing Lee County Road 100 and Lee County Road 166 where it caused damage to trees with some trunks snapped and some trees uprooted. Tornado damage continued further east along Lee County Road 165 and along portions of Lee County Road 40 and Lee County Road 2049 where it collapsed exterior walls of a family residence removed most of the roof of another house and caused some loss of roofing material from a house and a manufactured home then the tornado flipped a manufactured home and deposited its contents nearby along with destroying the roof and walls of a single-wide manufactured home and caused continued tree damage. The tornado moved east across Lee County Road 170 then turned more to the northeast where it crossed Lee County Road 401 near the intersection with Lee County Road 175 and continued home and timber damage all the way to Lee County Road 241. The tornado continued northeast crossing Lee County Road 245 and Lee County Road 179 with damage to the roof of a house along County Road 239 along with continued timber damage. The tornado then began to turn more to the east as it approached Phenix City from the west, crossing Lee County Road 239 and portions of Lee County Road 246 then affecting portions of lee County Roads 289, 292, 290 with damage to the roof of a house and timber damage. The tornado crossed near Fullers Lake area where it rolled a manufactured home over and caused some loss of roofing material to a house. Additional damage occurred along Lee County Road 294 and Lee County Road 298 where a professional building lost some of its roof materials and damage to siding and roofing occurred to several small homes that were not well constructed. As the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 280 it caused some roof damage to a restaurant, damaged a billboard and collapsed a cellular service communications tower. Timber damage occurred northeast of U.S. Highway 280 along Lee County Road 298. The tornado moved more to the right and affected areas along Lee County Road 318 and 319 where some roof damage to homes occurred and much in the way of timber damage resulted. A tree fell and crushed an outbuilding and a single-wide manufactured home lost portions of its roof. The tornado moved northeast from this point toward the Chattahoochee River where it caused roof damage to some houses near the river and downed a metal high-tension power line tower. The tornado crossed the Chattahoochee River and continued extensive damage in Georgia. The tornado damage path was 26.73 miles long and was 1600 yards wide at its widest point. .NWS Atlanta... 29 minutes after tornadogenesis, and after a deadly and destructive path through Macon County and Lee County in Alabama, the tornado crossed the Chattahoochee River into Georgia at 3:29 PM EST near Winding Ridge Rd in Muscogee County. The tornado continued ENE along Winding Ridge Rd, Old River Rd, and Biggers Rd causing extensive damage to forested areas. Large swaths of softwood trees were uprooted or snapped near the base of the ground. Upon crossing Whitesville Rd in NW Muscogee County, EF-1 damage was recorded over a 750 yard path perpendicular to the tornado's path. The tornado then continued and crossed the I-185 interstate around 3:37 PM EST just 1.5 miles SW of Fortson. At 3:39 PM EST, the tornado crossed U.S. Hwy 27, also known as Veterans Parkway, between Woodridge Rd and Almond Rd, and toppled and mangled a large cellular tower along with a swath of pine trees with wind speeds of approximately 140 mph. Confidence in this EF-3 wind speed was increased when nearly a dozen metal guidewires attached to the tower measuring over one inch in diameter were snapped. The tornado then immediately crossed into Harris County, and continued to cause mostly EF-1 damage along Gray Rock Rd and the winding Rip Smith Rd snapping hundreds of trees along the way. The tornado then reached the south side of Ellerslie around 3:47 PM EST, continuing to parallel Highway 315 where hundreds of softwood and several hardwood trees were snapped. Minor roof damage was noted to several homes with shingles pulled off, as well as one home with damage to the attic and top floor. Further east and just north of highway 315, along Mount Airy Road, just north of Apachee trail there were hundreds of softwood trees down, as well as a home with significant damage to the top floor. Across the street, were several homes with missing shingles and a carport that was destroyed. Damage in this area was consistent with EF2 120 mph winds. The tornado then continued ENE to Ridgeway Rd, just north of Hwy 315, where EF2 damage continued to be recorded with several dozen softwood trees snapped near their bases. As Hwy 315 then began to turn northeastward the tornado began to run alongside the highway and eventually intercepted it. Along this route, dozens of additional trees were found blown north of the highway. At approximately 3:54 PM EST, the tornado crossed into Talbot County, quickly destroying a small church, a mobile trailer home, dozens of trees and causing extensive damage to a two-story home. The Humble Zion Church, which was completely demolished with no walls left standing, was made of heavy-duty cinder blocks and mortar, with several structures within the church blown to surrounding areas resulting in an approximation of wind speeds of 140 mph. The tornado continued ENE crossing a northeastward oriented Hwy 315, and weakened significantly. EF-1 wind damage was found consistently through forested areas in and around Hwy 315, along Callier Rd, O'Neal Rd, and Mitchell Rd. Between 4:03 and 4:06 PM EST, the tornado moved into northern Talbotton, causing extensive damage to trees and completely destroying numerous homes. High End EF-1 damage was observed along Adams Rd, in the Northwest of town as wide swaths of trees were observed to be snapped going into town. The tornado intensified again as it intersected Washington Ave, the main north-south road through town causing mostly high-end EF-2 damage. A few double-wide and single-wide manufactured homes were completely turned over, twisted, and destroyed. It was nearly unrecognizable where these manufactured homes originally sat. Contents of the homes were blown over a quarter mile into the woods behind them. One single family home was twisted at least 10 feet off of it's foundation and another had its second story completely removed. Two brick-and-mortar apartments were completely blown down by approximately 140 mph winds with most of the slabs being laid bare in the tornados wake. At least a dozens of cars were also destroyed, being peppered with rocks and debris, with windows blown out, and several which were blown laterally by several feet and one sedan which had rolled up on top of a small pick-up truck and then fell back to its side. Several other manufactured homes lost their roofing and some lost whole rooms to the winds. Remarkably, no fatalities occurred but seven injuries were reported in town. The tornado then continued ENE along U.S. Hwy 80 as it exited town, continuing to snap and uproot hundreds of trees in its wake. Another manufactured home was found to have been rolled and torn apart, with another having the rear half collapsed from winds and falling trees. The storm continued ENE going between U.S. Hwy 80 and Boot Kelly Rd & Pobiddy Rd. Cross-roads were sparse, but when available showed damage consistent with EF-1 wind speeds. On Poplar Cross Rd, between Pobiddy and U.S. Hwy 80 EF-2 damage was found in a small valley with hundreds of softwood trees snapped near their bases. The last recorded damage point occurred east of the intersection of George Smith Rd and Carl Mathis Rd with a few final trees snapped off. The tornado the dissipated at approximately 4:16 PM EST about 10.5 miles ENE of Talbotton, Georgia in eastern Talbot county. In total, the tornado tracked 68.8 miles over 76 minutes, with 42.0 miles and 47 minutes of the track on the Georgia side of the border. Remarkably, no fatalities occurred in Georgia but seven injuries were reported in and around Talbotton. Survey Team: Nelson/Atwell/Thiem/Stellman/Black .Crawford and Peach County Tornado... Rating: EF-2 Estimated Peak Wind: 115 mph Path Length /statute/: 6.7 miles Path Width /maximum/: 420 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 1 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 315 PM EST Start Location: 4.8 miles NW of Fort Valley Start Lat/Lon: 32.5998 / -83.9492 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 322 PM EST End Location: 5.0 miles SW of Byron End Lat/Lon: 32.6252 / -83.8389 Survey Summary: A fast-moving supercell thunderstorm produced a tornado in eastern Crawford County which began along Lee Pope Road as an EF-0 tornado where large pine trees were uprooted. The tornado continued moving east-northeastward with a relatively narrow width of around 90 yards upon reaching Greer Road, at which point winds increased into the low-end EF-2 range. A mobile home on Greer Road was flipped and demolished, and a vehicle was flipped and rolled. One woman inside the mobile home sustained a broken ankle when the home was destroyed. The tornado briefly weakened to an EF-1, downing trees as it crossed Walton Road, before reaching low-end EF-2 intensity for a second time along Wesley Chapel Road. A home at this location had its roof completely removed and some exterior walls collapsed. A neighboring home sustained roof damage from the large amount of flying debris. The tornado again weakened to EF-1 intensity as it crossed into Peach County, downing or uprooting a number of trees along Taylors Mill Road where its maximum width was achieved. Pecan farming equipment was overturned and a farming shed was destroyed as the tornado crossed Vinson Road. The tornado lifted after downing pecan trees along Oak Way. Survey Team: Deese/Willis .Twiggs County (Huber) Tornado... Rating: EF-1 Estimated Peak Wind: 90 mph Path Length /statute/: 1.2 miles Path Width /maximum/: 300 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 342 PM EST Start Location: 0.6 miles SW of Huber Start Lat/Lon: 32.7023 / -83.5584 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 344 PM EST End Location: 0.6 miles SE of Huber End Lat/Lon: 32.7021 / -83.5387 Survey Summary: The same supercell that produced the earlier Crawford and Peach County tornado produced a second tornado after crossing into Twiggs County in the small community of Huber. The tornado touched down very near the KaMin factory on Huber Road where a number of large trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado then produced further EF-1 damage between Huber Road and Huber Clay County Road where a large number of pine trees were snapped or uprooted. A number of other trees were snapped or uprooted near the Chance Hill Church on Cochran Short Route (US-23). A pine tree was downed on a house near this location as well before the tornado lifted shortly thereafter. Survey Team: Deese/Willis .Wilkinson County Tornado... Rating: EF-1 Estimated Peak Wind: 105 mph Path Length /statute/: 3.3 miles Path Width /maximum/: 630 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 418 PM EST Start Location: 1.4 miles S of Toomsboro Start Lat/Lon: 32.8071 / -83.0795 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 420 PM EST End Location: 2.5 miles ENE of Toomsboro End Lat/Lon: 32.8331 / -83.0364 Survey Summary: The same supercell thunderstorm that produced the Crawford/Peach and Twiggs County tornadoes produced a third tornado in eastern Wilkinson County. The tornado touched down south of Toomsboro just west of Highway 112 (Nickelsville Toomsboro Road) and quickly reached EF-1 strength, downing and snapping trees along Highway 112. The tornado continued northeastward, reaching its maximum width as it crossed Highway 57 (Irwinton Road). Numerous trees were snapped and uprooted in this area. From this point, the tornado traversed a very rural wooded area and reached the Dixie Mine, where the emergency manager reported numerous trees were snapped and uprooted, and some roofing damage occurred to buildings at the mine site. The tornado track then ended in a very remote and inaccessible woodland area near the Oconee River. Survey Team: Deese/Willis .Northern Harris County Tornado... Rating: EF-1 Estimated Peak Wind: 100 mph Path Length /statute/: 7.5 miles Path Width /maximum/: 900 yards (0.5 miles) Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 419 PM EST Start Location: 5.5 miles WSW of Pine Mountain Start Lat/Lon: 32.8360 / -84.9421 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 428 PM EST End Location: 1.8 miles E of Pine Mountain End Lat/Lon: 32.8665 / -84.8197 Survey Summary: A supercell thunderstorm moved into northern Harris county and produced a tornado which began just west of the intersection of Hopewell Church Rd and Hamilton Pleasant Grove Rd. As the tornado traveled east-northeast along GA-18, the tornado intensified downing hundreds of trees, several falling on homes. As the tornado approached the city of Pine Mountain, the width of the tornado increased to near one-half mile but fortunately only increased to a maximum intensity of 100 mph as it moved across the south parts of the city. A large tree fell onto an apartment on S. King Ave destroying one of the rooms on the second floor. The tornado weakened as it continued east before lifting just west of the intersection of Davis Lake Rd and Cold Springs Rd. Survey Team: Nelson/Atwell .Western Washington County (Oconee) Tornado... Rating: EF-1 Estimated Peak Wind: 90 mph Path Length /statute/: 0.5 miles Path Width /maximum/: 200 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 424 PM EST Start Location: 0.7 miles SW of Oconee Start Lat/Lon: 32.8477 / -82.9564 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 425 PM EST End Location: 0.6 miles SE of Oconee End Lat/Lon: 32.8488 / -82.9471 Survey Summary: After producing the tornado in eastern Wilkinson County near Toomsboro, the ongoing supercell thunderstorm produced another brief EF-1 tornado in the small community of Oconee in Washington County. The tornado tracked along Kaolin Road, downing and snapping a number of trees. Sections of shingles were removed from the roof of a home on Kaolin Road and a backyard shed at the same home was flipped and heavily damaged. The tornado downed a large tree on a home at the corner of Kaolin Road and Highway 272 and downed a number of other trees alongside Highway 272 before ending just east of the highway. Survey Team: Deese/Willis .Washington County Tornado #2... Rating: EF-1 Estimated Peak Wind: 105 mph Path Length /statute/: 1.5 miles Path Width /maximum/: 290 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 436 PM EST Start Location: 5.5 miles SW of Tennille Start Lat/Lon: 32.8643 / -82.8495 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 438 PM EST End Location: 4.7 miles SW of Tennille End Lat/Lon: 32.8690 / -82.8259 Survey Summary: The ongoing supercell thunderstorm that had intermittently produced tornadoes along its path produced another brief EF-1 tornado in Washington County. The tornado touched down along GA-68 just south of Hazard Rd where a large number of trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado then continued east-northeastward along Old Savannah Road, snapping and downing numerous trees along the roadway before lifting. Survey Team: Deese/Willis .Washington County Tornado #3... Rating: EF-1 Estimated Peak Wind: 95 mph Path Length /statute/: 0.2 miles Path Width /maximum/: 85 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: Mar 3 2019 Start Time: 455 PM EST Start Location: 3.1 miles SSW of Davisboro Start Lat/Lon: 32.9334 / -82.6144 End Date: Mar 3 2019 End Time: 455 PM EST End Location: 3.0 miles S of Davisboro End Lat/Lon: 32.9345 / -82.6115 Survey Summary: The long-lived supercell thunderstorm that produced a other tornadoes along its track produced a final very brief tornado in Washington County. The EF-1 tornado touched down just south of Heards Bridge Road and impacted a farm outbuilding and an old reinforced concrete silo. The silo collapsed, and the concrete debris scattered across a field, impacting and downing nearby power lines. The tornado lifted shortly after causing this damage with no other damage found downstream. Survey Team: Deese/Willis ---------------- EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories: EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph EF4...Violent...166 to 200 mph EF5...Violent...>200 mph NOTE: The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the events and publication in NWS Storm Data. EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories: EF0...Weak......65 to 85 mph EF1...Weak......86 to 110 mph EF2...Strong....111 to 135 mph EF3...Strong....136 to 165 mph EF4...Violent...166 to 200 mph EF5...Violent...>200 mph NOTE: The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the events and publication in NWS Storm Data. $$