PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Severe Weather Team 2 has confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down in Paulding County late Saturday night.
The storm had maximum winds of 105 to 110 miles per hour. The tornado traveled for 11.64 miles and had a width of 200 yards, according to survey data.
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Severe Weather Team 2 tracked the line of storms that started moving into the state around 7 p.m. The line moved out shortly after 4 a.m., but not before leaving a destructive path across parts of metro Atlanta.
The worst damage was in the Windale Road area near Highway 78 and Highway 61.
“I heard the hail, then the wind picked up, everything was blowing sideways,” said Clifford White who lives on Windale Road. “I could not see the house across the street. There was that much water coming down.”
White said a 150-year-old tree came down in his yard, narrowly missing the majority of his home.
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Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers also saw trees blocking the part of the Silver Comet Trail that passes through that area.
Paulding County’s sheriff said at least 14 homes got damaged in the storm.
NWS crews are continuing to survey the storm damage. On Sunday night, they released a detailed path the tornado took.
“The tornado initially touched down to the southwest of Sudie, GA near Pace Creek Lake, where multiple large pine trees were downed and an outbuilding was destroyed. The tornado then tracked northeast where it produced the initial EF1 rated damage near the intersection of Scoggins Rd. and Cole Lake Rd. This included numerous large pine trees downed and power line damage. 2 large pine trees fell on two homes in the Paces Lake neighborhood. From there the tornado continued on a northeast track through a mostly forested area before intersecting Villa Rica HWY near Old Villa Rica Rd. The tornado paralleled Villa Rica HWY for around 1.5 miles until it reached the intersection with HWY 278. Damage was most intense during this phase of the tornado with peak winds estimated in the 105 to 110 range. This included damage to a gas station, numerous uprooted and topped trees, downed power lines and damage to the roof of a Kroger grocery store near the intersection of HWY 278 and Villa Rica HWY. After crossing Merchants Dr. the tornado weakened into the EF0 range as if tracked northeast near Ray Mountain and into New Hope, GA. Additional EF1 damage was found just north of New Hope near the intersection of Mount Tabor Church Rd. and Parkway Ct. Here multiple large trees were uprooted, a shed was destroyed and several homes were damaged by falling trees. The tornado then continued towards the northeast where it caused minor tree and shingle damage in the Reserve neighborhood. It lifted near the intersection of White Spruce Ln. and Wood Point Way around 11:53 PM EST.”
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