Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
768 NOUS42 KFFC 222245 PNSFFC GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-231045- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 645 PM EDT Thu May 22 2025 ...NWS Damage Survey for NWS Damage Survey for May 20-21, 2025 Tornado Event Update Update #1... .Update...Added Gordon and Cherokee County tornadoes ..Gordon County Tornado... Rating: EF0 Estimated Peak Wind: 85 mph Path Length /statute/: 4.72 miles Path Width /maximum/: 200 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: 05/20/2025 Start Time: 11:42 PM EDT Start Location: 3 NW Folsom / Gordon County / GA Start Lat/Lon: 34.4109 / -84.867 End Date: 05/20/2025 End Time: 11:49 PM EDT End Location: 2 E Sonoraville / Gordon County / GA End Lat/Lon: 34.4402 / -84.7936 Survey Summary: An EF0 tornado touched down late Tuesday evening at 11:42 PM EDT in Gordon County to the southeast of Calhoun Along Plainview Road SE where several large trees where uprooted including one onto a home. The tornado continued to the Northeast crossing Blalock Rd remaining south of Erwin Hill Road before crossing Shope Lake Road and Cornelison Road where several trees were snapped and uprooted. Further to the east along Cornelison Road, roofing from a section of a chicken house was torn off. The tornado continued northeast and impacting a neighborhood along Windy Hills Lane and Windy Hill Dr where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, including several onto homes. A roof and siding was removed from a manufactured home, a pontoon boat was flipped, and 2 small sheds were destroyed. The tornado crossed Folsom Road SE and and lifted before reaching Yarborough Mill Road. It should be noted that the Hytop radar was down during this time and the Peachtree City radar had the best view of the storm. Radar data suggests the presence of a larger mesocyclone with storm which originated as a supercell storm in AL evolving into a hybrid supercell/QLCS storm into GA. This particular tornado appears to be 1 of 2 which likely occurred in this area as part of this larger mesocyclone and can be discerned in both the data on the ground and from the KFFC radar. This tornado was best aligned with the strongest portion of the mesocyclone. ..Gordon County Tornado #2... Rating: EF0 Estimated Peak Wind: 75 mph Path Length /statute/: 2.39 miles Path Width /maximum/: 100 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: 05/20/2025 Start Time: 11:43 PM EDT Start Location: 2 W Sonoraville / Gordon County / GA Start Lat/Lon: 34.4541 / -84.8723 End Date: 05/20/2025 End Time: 11:47 PM EDT End Location: 1 SSW Sonoraville / Gordon County / GA End Lat/Lon: 34.4386 / -84.8353 Survey Summary: An EF0 tornado touched down late Tuesday evening at 11:43 PM EDT in Gordon County to the southeast of Calhoun near the intersection of Hwy 53 and Foster Lusk Road. The tornado uprooted a few small trees and continued ESE crossing HWY53 destroying a pole barn on the south side of Hwy53 just past Plainview Road. Debris from the barn was scattered approximately 150 yards to the east and a few trees were snapped in the area. The tornado continued east snapping and uprooting several trees along Erwin Road SE, including one on a home. A barn along Erwin Road SE lost its roof and one of the walls was blown out as well. The tornado continued ESE into a neighborhood along Rosewood Dr where several trees where snapped and numerous branches were scattered around. The tornado weakened as it crossed Erwin Hill Road SE. It should be noted that the Hytop radar was down during this time and the Peachtree City radar had the best view of the storm. Radar data suggests the presence of a larger mesocyclone with storm which originated as a supercell storm in AL evolving into a hybrid supercell/QLCS storm into GA. This particular tornado appears to be 1 of 2 which likely occurred in this area as part of this larger mesocyclone and can be discerned in both the data on the ground and from the KFFC radar. ..Cherokee County Tornado... Rating: EF0 Estimated Peak Wind: 75 mph Path Length /statute/: 2.05 miles Path Width /maximum/: 150 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: 05/21/2025 Start Time: 12:09 AM EDT Start Location: 1 WNW Waleska / Cherokee County / GA Start Lat/Lon: 34.3216 / -84.5631 End Date: 05/21/2025 End Time: 12:13 AM EDT End Location: 1 ESE Waleska / Cherokee County / GA End Lat/Lon: 34.3101 / -84.5309 Survey Summary: An EF0 tornado with maximum winds of 75mph touched down just to the northwest of Waleska late Tuesday night/Early Wednesday just after midnight at 12:09AM EDT. The tornado touched down just west of Reinhardt College Parkway where a few trees were uprooted or snapped including Grady Street in Waleska. The tornado continued ESE paralleling parkway snapping several trees near houses along the hwy and several across the hwy. The tornado continued ESE crossing the intersection of Land Road and Darby Roads continuing to down several trees along the hwy near homes. The last point of damage discovered was behind a home on Reinhardt College parkway before Hobart Smith Road. While limited, radar data suggests that this tornado evolved as a bookend vortex as a result of a strong surge in wind just to the southwest of the area in a rural portion of NW Cherokee County. ..Spalding/Henry/Butts County Tornado... Rating: EF1 Estimated Peak Wind: 90 mph Path Length /statute/: 10.51 miles Path Width /maximum/: 300 yards Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0 Start Date: 05/21/2025 Start Time: 03:39 AM EDT Start Location: 2 S Luella / Spalding County / GA Start Lat/Lon: 33.3288 / -84.1823 End Date: 05/21/2025 End Time: 03:57 AM EDT End Location: 2 ESE Jenkinsburg / Butts County / GA End Lat/Lon: 33.3134 / -84.0053 Survey Summary: An EF1 tornado touched down in extreme northeastern Spalding county along Old McDonough road near Johnson Road early Wednesday morning around3:39 AM EDT May 21, 2025. The tornado knocked over a few trees on the west side of Hwy 155 before crossing the hwy and ripping off the roof to a large barn. 2 people were asleep in a camping trailer near the barn when the tornado hit. They claimed the camper lifted off the ground and slammed down breaking the jacks supporting the front end of the camper. Additionally roof material from the nearby barn slammed into the camper and was spread eastward into a field area. The tornado continued east crossing Amelia Drive snapping trees before crossing into Henry County along Collins Drive snapping and uprooting a few trees. The storm continued ESE crossing Lester Mill Road snapping a few trees before crossing I75 near LG Griffin Road. Several trees were snapped along Hossannah Road which runs along the east side of I75. The storm continued east within a largely uninhabited area before reaching a neighborhood along Locust Road, in the community of Locust Grove. Numerous trees were downed along Locust Road, Grove Pointe Ct, Grove Point Way, and Grove Point Dr, including several onto homes in that area. The tornado continued east into Butts County crossing Deer Point Cir and Dean Patrick Roads snapping off a few trees. The tornado continued east snapping and uprooting a few trees along County Line Road, England Chapel Road, and Shiloh roads. Ironically, the damage within portions of this track coincided with damage still present from the January 2023 tornado path. The tornado continued east crossing Walter Moore Road snapping a few trees before lifting east of the road before reaching the northern portion of the City of Jackson in Butts County. && EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories: EF0.....65 to 85 mph EF1.....86 to 110 mph EF2.....111 to 135 mph EF3.....136 to 165 mph EF4.....166 to 200 mph EF5.....>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. $$