Georgia saw its first severe weather of 2009 on Wednesday evening, with reports of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms causing one death and multiple injuries. It appears that most of the damage was recorded south of Atlanta, and along the Georgia-Florida border.

Preliminary storm reports showed an EF0 tornado in Warner Robins, an EF4 tornado in Washington, in Wilkes county, which traveled 16 miles and moved a two ton truck 60 feet, an EF1 tornado in Eatonton causing one injury, additional reports of EF1 tornadoes in Jasper and Newton counties, an EF2 tornado near Moreland in Coweta County, and an EF3 tornado near Sparta in Hancock County, which caused the fatality as its 140 MPH winds traveled an eight mile path.

Here is the preliminary report from the Weather Service as of late this afternoon:

TAYLOR COUNTY…THE TORNADO BEGAN NEAR TOMMY PRUVIS ROAD AND SB EUBANKS DRIVE AT 545 PM. THE INTERMITTENT TOUCHDOWNS WAS 3 TO 4 MILES LONG AND 50 TO 100 FEET WIDE. SEVERAL TREES BLOWN DOWN…A MOBILE HOME DAMAGED AND ONE BLOWN OFF ITS FOUNDATION. IT WAS RATED AS AN EF0 WITH WIND AROUND 70 MPH.

JASPER COUNTY…THE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN WAS AT 800 PM… APPROXIMATELY 7 MILES IN LENGTH…STARTING 9 MILES WNW OF SHADY DALE TO 2 WNW OF SHADY DALE…LIFTING ABOUT 810 PM. IT WAS RATED A WEAK EF1 WITH WIND ESTIMATED AT 100MPH. MINOR DAMAGE WAS REPORTED TO FIVE HOMES AND MAJOR DAMAGE TO A SMALL COTTAGE.

COWETA COUNTY…THE TORNADO TOUCHDOWN AT 923 BRADBERRY ROAD…APPROXIMATELY THREE MILES WEST OF HIGHWAY 27. THE STORM CONTINUED TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST ABOUT SEVEN MILES ACROSS SOUTHERN COWETA COUNTY…AND 1 MILE WIDE AT THE WIDEST POINT. THE TIME OF THE TOUCHDOWN WAS 830 PM… AND RATED AS AN EF2. AT LEAST A DOZEN HOMES DAMAGED ..SOME SUBSTANTIAL.

PUTNAM COUNTY…THE STARTING POINT WAS 7 WSW OF EATONTON AROUND 715 PM AND EXTENDED ABOUT 7 MILES IN LENGTH AND ONE QUARTER MILE WIDE. THE EF2 TORNADO UPROOTED NUMEROUS TREES…DOWNED POWER LINES CLOSED U.S. HIGHWAY 129…AND AT LEAST ONE PERSON INJURED FROM DEBRIS AS THE STORM WENT FROM WILLARD TO EASTONTON AND BRIEFLY TRAPPING OTHERS IN THE HOME OR CAR. A RESTAURANT COMPLETELY DESTROYED…AND SEVERAL HOMES SUSTAINED MODERATE TO MAJOR DAMAGE.

WILKES COUNTY…THE STORM REACHED THE WESTERN PART OF THE COMMUNITY OF TYRONE…NEAR HIGHWAY 44 AT 710 PM AND EXTENDED FOR 16 MILES IN LENGTH AND ONE HALF MILE WIDE. THE STORM WAS RATED AN EF4 WITH DEBRIS FROM THE DEMOLISHED HOME BEING CARRIED AT LEAST ONE HALF MILE. THERE WERE FIVE OTHER BUILDINGS RECEIVING MINOR TO MODERATE DAMAGE…AND A CHICKEN HOUSE WAS DESTROYED AS WELL.

There were also numerous hail reports, with golf ball size hail reported in Walton County, and 1.75 inch hail in Henry, Coweta and Clayton Counties.

For the next few days, it’s going to be colder than normal, with highs only around 50 degrees and lows below freezing at least until Wednesday. This is likely to balance out an already warmer than normal February. As of yesterday, Hartsfield airport’s mean temperature was 2.7 degree above normal. At this time of year, our normal high should be 58 degrees, with lows around 38. However after this cold spell passes, the outlook is for warmer than usual temperatures through the first week in March.

Long range, the outlook for March issued today by the Weather Service says we should see equal chances of above or below normal temperatures and below normal rainfall, and for March through May the trend of variable temperatures and drier weather holds as well.

This afternoon’s thunderstorms were responsible for hail, damaging winds and even a few tornadoes to Georgia, but on the upside, they brought needed rain as well.  In advance of an approaching cold front, the storms fired up from west to east, with the worst of the storms affecting the Atlanta area between 5 and 6 PM.

Looking at the Georgia storm reports,  there were reports of damaging winds bringing down power lines and trees in west Georgia, tornado spottings in southwest Georgia and quarter inch hail.  In metro Atlanta, some minor flooding was reported in Tucker, and there were tornado warnings issued for Fulton and Gwinnett counties based on radar soundings, however no tornadoes were reported in the metro area.

The storm did bring some needed rain to the area.  As of 7:30 PM, here are some reported rain amounts:

Alpharetta: 1.18 inches
Johns Creek: 1.18 inches
Dunwoody: 1.21 inches
Gainesville: 1.17 inches
Lawrenceville:  0.77 inches
Dahlonega: 0.98 inches
Jonesboro: 0.36 inches
Dallas: 1.01 inches

The good news is that the heaviest rains occurred on the north side of the metro area, and should add to the runoff into lakes Lanier and Allatoona. With the cold front pushing in, any additional rainfall tonight will be light.  And, with more rain predicted for the end of the week, we might be able to make a dent in the slow refilling of the lakes.

It looks like much of Gwinnett and Atlanta is getting needed rainfall this evening, as a relatively unexpected storm system moved in. Here in South Gwinnett, I’ve recorded .91 inches of rain. During the most intense parts of the storm, I saw quarter-sized hail, and for a period of about 20 minutes, hail ranging from the size of Kix cereal to the size of a jellybean fell.

This system is a bit unusual, in that it moved from northeast to southwest, the opposite of most systems. In a bit of a reverse of the fairly common cold air damming, a cold pool of air in the upper atmosphere came south, and ran into the warmer, moist air from the southwest that was already in place, causing the storms and hail. Typically, storms move from west to east, following the prevailing wind patterns.

The cold pool will be south of us tomorrow, reducing the chance of rain. However, it looks like we are in a fairly normal summer pattern, which is good news for the drought. If we get an inch or rain like this every week, even though there will be a deficit, the excessively dry conditions will be a thing of the past.

The massive cool down predicted for the weekend, with temperatures anywhere between 20 and 30 degrees cooler than they have been, has set up a high possibility of thunderstorms, hail, and possible tornadoes for Friday afternoon, and into early Saturday morning.

In an early morning severe weather outlook, the Storm Prediction Center predicted the greatest likelihood of severe storms in most of Alabama and western Georgia, stretching north through Tennessee and Kentucky.

At 1:10 PM, the Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm watch for a diagonal area in middle Georgia, with the top of the warning area including Gwinnett. Shortly before 1 PM, the leading edge of the front was approaching the Atlanta metro area, and several severe thunderstorm warnings had been issued for counties in north and west Atlanta metro, although none yet in Gwinnett.

A severe thunderstorm warning issued for Hall County shortly after 1 PM predicted nickel size hail, however in my section of Gwinnett, all I say was some significant winds and about half an inch of rain.

The watch area proved accurate, with reports of penny size hail north of Columbus, and in Vienna, and 1.75 inch hail in Cordele. As of 9 PM, the second wave of the storm was beginning to pass through the area, prompting the weather service to issue another severe thunderstorm watch until midnight for counties in northwest Georgia and Eastern Tennessee.

While I wouldn’t be surprised to see some additional rain overnight, I think that the more than 20 degree drop in temperatures immediately after the first round of storms will minimize any possible really severe weather.

Updated at 9:00 PM to reflect current conditions.

Shortly after I got to Sugarloaf Country Club and the BellSouth Classic at 10:00 this morning, an unexpected round of sleet and snow passed over the course. Walking along the 12th fairway, conditions deteriorated rapidly, as rain and sleet began to fall.

Fortunately, a corporate hospitality “Sky Box” was at the 10th green, and its owners were kind enough to let the few spectators in the area in for the duration of the storm, which was about 20 minutes. The whole thing caused about an hour and a half delay of the tournament, although conditions improved (if 55 degrees and 30 MPH winds can be called an improvement).

Similar conditions were reported in Dacula and Suwanee, which received half inch hail. Grayson, Morrow, Alpharetta and Mableton each reported light snow. At 10:30, the Weather Service updated its forecast to warn of the chance of sleet and hail during the day; in my opinion a matter of updating the forecast to match conditions, rather than seeing the possibility in advance.

So, what happened? The upper level low that passed over Georgia overnight was located in Virginia. The low is associated with several fronts that rotate counter-clockwise around the center of the low. The major cold front passed over North Georgia overnight, ending most of the precipitation, and bringing in colder air.

Behind the cold front was a secondary shortwave low pressure trough, which was able to wring out just a little more precipitation from the air. The cold air aloft was enough to turn the precipitation into sleet and snow.

Fortunately, the low continues to move away from us, and conditions should be better tomorrow, with lighter winds, and temperatures in the mid 60s. Conditions will continue to improve for the early part of the week, until the next storm system moves in on Thursday to potentially delay the start of the Masters.

Just in time for severe weather awareness week, North Georgia received its first major round of thunderstorms for the season on Monday, February 21st.

About noon, a severe thunderstorm warning was sounded for counties in northwest Georgia. By shortly after 1 PM, a severe thunderstorm was spotted in the Lilburn area, and an additional warning was issued shortly after 1:35 for Gwinnett, Walton, and Barrow counties, with storms located in Tucker and Loganville. A large area from Alabama, through 58 counties in north Georgia, and into South Carolina was put under a severe thunderstorm watch until 7PM.

A second wave of thunderstorms crossed North Gwinnett around 6:30, with hail the size of golf balls predicted from north of Duluth east to Buford and Sugar Hill. Shortly before 7PM an additional warning was issued for DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties until 7:45, again with predictions of golf ball size hail through Lilburn and Lawrenceville. As of 7:15, I was observing hail the size of peas outside my house (and hoping the hood of the truck wasn’t going to become damaged). By about 7:30 that phase of the storm had passed through the area. At 7:50, an additional warning was issued for Gwinnett until 8:15.

Due to the continuing presence of the storm, a second watch that included 67 Georgia counties, many further south than the first watch, was put into effect until 2 AM Tuesday. This map shows the size of the second watch, and radar in the area as of about 7:00 PM:

(Courtesy of the National Weather Service.)

Damage reports from the storm include 1 inch hail reported in Snellville and Grayson around 1:30 PM, 2 inch hail in Rome and Canton around 5:30 PM, and 1.75 inch hail around 7:30 PM in Winder. Although some of these reports were from the public, trained spotters reported 1.75 inch hail in Lilburn and Snellville between 7:20 and 7:50 PM.

Rain caused by the storms prompted flood warnings in northwest Georgia, and along the Etowah river near Dawsonville. By 8:45, enough rain had fallen in Gwinnett to issue a generalized flood warning for the county. Both the Big Creek in Alpharetta and the Chattahoochee near Vinings were close to flood stage on Tuesday morning.

Here we measured 1.96 inches of rain on Monday, and a total of 2.41 inches of rain for the storm which began on Sunday. The rain in the last 24 hours measures more than a third of the 6.16 inches so far this year.

This post was originally published at 1:30PM on 2/21/05, and has been updated several times to reflect current conditions.