4/27-4/28 Tornado Outbreak Damage Assessment Thread

[Stebo]

Also, the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell/Tanner/Madison tornado killed at least 77 people. That is unbelievable.

Yeah we are now looking at 2 tornadoes that have killed over 60 both on the same day, which is unfathomable when it comes down to it.

[Stebo]

HUN updated Cullman County with a 2nd EF4 that tracked into their CWA, the Cordova tornado clipped the Southern tip of the county.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HUNTSVILLE AL

834 PM CDT SUN MAY 1 2011

...PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY INFORMATION FROM CULLMAN COUNTY...

A PRELIMINARY STORM SURVEY OF THE DAMAGE INCURRED ACROSS CULLMAN

COUNTY HAS BEEN COMPLETED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PERSONNEL.

INITIAL FINDINGS ARE AS FOLLOWS:

* EVENT TYPE: TORNADO

* EVENT DATE: 04/27/11

* ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 170.0 MPH

* PRELIMINARY RATING: EF-4

* PATH LENGTH: 6 MILES (TRACKED INTO CULLMAN COUNTY FROM WALKER

COUNTY AND CONTINUED EAST INTO BLOUNT COUNTY. SEE SURVEYS BY WFO

BIRMINGHAM FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FOR BOTH COUNTIES.)

* MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH: 1/4 MILE

* INJURIES: UNKNOWN

* SUMMARY: A LARGE TORNADO TRACKED INTO THE HUNTSVILLE CWA ACROSS THE

VERY SOUTHERN TIP OF CULLMAN COUNTY...FROM ABOUT 3 MILES SOUTHWEST

OF ARKADELPHIA TO JUST OVER 2 MILES E-SE OF ARKADELPHIA. THIS

TORNADO THEN TRACKED OUT OF THE HUNTSVILLE CWA INTO BLOUNT COUNTY.

IN CULLMAN COUNTY...A WIDE SWATH OF PINE AND HARDWOOD TREES WAS

FOUND SNAPPED AT THE BASES OR SPLINTERED SEVERAL FEET OFF THE

GROUND...WITH SOME DEBARKING OF TREES. SOUTH OF HWY 91 ALONG

WASHINGTON LOOP...SEVERAL HOMES WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. A MOBILE

HOME WAS OBLITERATED AND THE FRAME WAS FOUND AT LEAST 200 YARDS TO

THE EAST UP A HILL. A CINDER BLOCK HOME WAS WIPED OUT...WITH THE

CONTENTS LANDING ACROSS THE ROAD...WHILE THE CARS NEARBY WERE

TOSSED. A TRUCK LANDED IN A NEARBY HOLLOW AT LEAST 50 YARDS AWAY

WHILE A SEDAN WAS SMASHED AS IT LANDED ABOUT 130 YARDS AWAY.

FARMING EQUIPMENT IN A BARN WAS DISPLACED INTO THE

HOLLOW...INCLUDING A HAY BALER AND A TRACTOR. THE STORM SHELTER BY

THE RESIDENCE WAS PARTIALLY LIFTED AND DAMAGED. THE PERSON INSIDE

RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES. ADDITIONAL HOMES AND BUILDINGS NEARBY WERE

DESTROYED AND FEW TREES WERE LEFT STANDING OR NOT DEBARKED. THE

MAIN DAMAGE PATH WAS FAIRLY WELL CONFINED...AS A WELL BUILT HOME

JUST AT THE EDGE OF THE TRACK ONLY SUSTAINED MINOR ROOF DAMAGE.

The bolded part is pretty amazing, cinderblock buildings are for the most part very sturdy

[Master of Disaster]

Tony do we have an updated tornado count, I know you posted one yesterday I believe, wondering if we have gone up in number since then.

From the NWS: WIKI shows 14 EF4s.

NOAA's preliminary estimate is that there were 312 tornadoes during the entire outbreak from 8:00 a.m. EDT April 26 to 8:00 a.m. April 28, 2011.

• During the 24-hour period from 8:00 a.m. EDT April 27 to 8:00 a.m. EDT April 28, The National Weather Service (NWS) estimates there were a total of 226 tornadoes.

• The NWS Storm Prediction Center issued severe weather outlooks five days in advance and tornado watches hours in advance.

• NWS Weather Forecast Offices issued life-saving tornado warnings, with an average lead-time of 24 minutes. NWS issued warnings for more than 90 percent of these tornadoes.

• NWS decision support for this event has been extensive. NWS Weather Forecast Offices in the affected areas of Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia advertised the potential for severe weather in the Tuesday through Wednesday timeframe since late last week. Local offices provided direct decision support services to meet the specific needs of local emergency manager partners and the general public. NWS Weather Forecast Offices issued Hazardous Weather Outlooks up to six days in advance noting the greater threat of strong, long-track tornadoes was expected.

• The largest previous number of tornadoes on record in one event occurred from April 3-4, 1974, with 148 tornadoes.

Expert analysis by NOAA Research and the National Weather Service of the fatality information indicates that at least 344 people were killed during the entire outbreak from 8:00 a.m. EDT April 26 to 8:00 a.m. April 28. There were 334 fatalities during the 24-hour-period from 8:00 a.m. April 27 to 8:00 a.m. April 28.

• This is the most people killed by tornadoes in a two-day period since April 5-6, 1936, when 454 people were killed, mostly in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Gainesville, Georgia.

• This is the deadliest single day for tornadoes since the March 18, 1925, tornado outbreak that had 747 fatalities across 7 states (including the Tri-State Tornado).

• The Tuscaloosa-Birmingham tornado during the April 2011 event caused at least 65 fatalities.

• • These are the most fatalities from a single tornado in the United States since May 25, 1955, when 80 people were killed in a tornado in southern Kansas with 75 of those deaths in Udall, Kansas.

• • The deadliest single tornado on record in the United States was the Tri-State tornado (Mo., Ill., Ind.) on March 18, 1925, when 695 died.

• Note: All numbers are based on combined NOAA and historical research records and current fatality estimates. The historical research records extend back to 1680.

[tornadotony]

From the NWS: WIKI shows 14 EF4s.

That is so wrong.

[Master of Disaster]

That is so wrong.

Figured it was, I only really use Wiki as a base for references and thats about it.

[blackjack123]

That is so wrong.

I counted about 11 or 12 EF4's from this outbreak but some of those tornadoes could have been from the same track from different NWS offices. I got 5 EF4's from Huntsville, 3 from Birmingham, 1 from Peachtree, 2 from Jackson, and 1 from Morristown.

[jpeters3]

Figured it was, I only really use Wiki as a base for references and thats about it.

Usually the people who construct these wiki pages are pretty careful about the accuracy of their entries, once everything has been tallied up - I actually give them a lot of credit for putting together these comprehensive pages on Tornado Outbreaks.

I'm sure once all the surveys are done, they will clear up the tornado count (i.e. account for tracks that transcend WFO regions).

[SluggerWx]

That is so wrong.

Tony - in retrospect, how blessed was the 'Boro considering the impacts there could have been had it tracked more towards the heavily populated areas a few years back?

Not to get OT, but wanted to chime in an an EF-4 that hit close to both of us.

using Tapatalk

[L.B. LaForce]

Moreover the inconsistencies between WFO's is disconcerting. HUN, MEG and JAN slapped an EF4 on damage that looked legitimately EF4. BMX has to go through deliberations. And FFC just doesnt give them out... some of the damage I've seen is clearly EF4'ish and Ringgold ought to be EF5.

I understand they are the experts, but man... I dunno about these ratings... there is a HUGE jump between an EF3 and EF4 in the record books.... Not to mention the WFO inconsistencies.

/soapbox

Yeah, this image from the Catoosa/Ringgold storm is pretty incredible, I can see that EF5

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/ffc/catoosa088.JPG

[Gorky]

I'm sure they have no reason to call an EF5 an EF4 unless it is actually EF4 damage. That photo, whilst impressive, gives us no idea on how well those buildings were anchored, if at all. There may well have been EF5 equivalent winds at this location but if it's unanchored framed houses being moved from their foundations and destroyed, that could be upper EF3 damage never mind EF4 or Ef5. The EF scale assigns the minimum expected wind speeds needed to cause the damage observed, not some higher value based on a hunch that it may have been stronger if it hit better built structures. Show me an upclose photo of the structures in that photo showing sheared rebar anchors (as with Parkersburg) and you may have a point. Until then, show these guys some respect. They are more than qualified to make the ratings they are - much more than some guy looking at aerial photos on the internet anyways. If they find EF5 damage they will rate it EF5 in time. I don't know if it's just me but at times, it seems like many of the people on these forums want to see higher ratings or death tolls as though this is some weird competition between this event and others in the past...

[thewxmann]

I'm sure they have no reason to call an EF5 and EF4 unless it is actually EF4 damage. That photo, whilst impressive, gives us no idea on how well those buildings were anchored, if at all. There may well have been EF5 equivalent winds at this location but if it's unanchored framed houses being moved from their foundations and destroyed, that could be upper EF3 damage never mind EF4 or Ef5. The EF scale assigns the minimum expected wind speeds needed to cause the damage observed, not some higher value based on a hunch that it may have been stronger if it hit better built structures. Show me an upclose photo of the structures in that photo showing sheared rebar anchors (as with Parkersburg) and you may have a point. Until then, show these guys some respect. They are more than qualified to make the ratings they are - much more than some guy looking at aerial photos on the internet anyways. If they find EF5 damage they will rate it EF5 in time. I don't know if it's just me but at times, it seems like many of the people on these forums want to see higher ratings or death tolls as though this is some weird competition between this event and others in the past...

The problem is the St. Clair tornado went through 70-80 mi+ of real estate... you'd expect at least one decently anchored building to have taken a hit... considering that multiple tornadoes to its west, north, and south had similar or lesser track lengths and received the EF4 rating.

I post my thoughts with utmost respect, but I do want to be able to compare tornado events objectively. I am working on a tornado outbreak scale, and I simply cannot do that objectively if the standards on EF3, EF4, etc. are different between 1974 and 2011... much less different between WFOs. We see a trend with Great Plains tornadoes being rated higher at the top end of the scale than SE tornadoes... why? Another little fact: HUN called in a different expert than BMX (and the difference in rating output has been drastic)... and another, different, and well-known expert disagrees with the Catoosa rating. The expert that BMX called in has been overruled on a previous EF3 rating in AL in 1994. So I think it is valid to question these ratings, and get different opinions on the matter, because as trivial as it seems, the statistics are important for the science. If there was uncertainty between Katrina being a Cat 3 and a Cat 4 at landfall, I'd for sure love to see scientists get it right. Mainly right now I'm just curious why the PNS for the St. Clair tornado was mostly unchanged, but the winds went down from 180 mph to 150.

[Stebo]

The problem is the St. Clair tornado went through 70-80 mi+ of real estate... you'd expect at least one decently anchored building to have taken a hit... considering that multiple tornadoes to its west, north, and south had similar or lesser track lengths and received the EF4 rating.

I post my thoughts with utmost respect, but I do want to be able to compare tornado events objectively. I am working on a tornado outbreak scale, and I simply cannot do that objectively if the standards on EF3, EF4, etc. are different between 1974 and 2011... much less different between WFOs. We see a trend with Great Plains tornadoes being rated higher at the top end of the scale than SE tornadoes... why? Another little fact: HUN called in a different expert than BMX (and the difference in rating output has been drastic)... and another, different, and well-known expert disagrees with the Catoosa rating. The expert that BMX called in has been overruled on a previous EF3 rating in AL in 1994. So I think it is valid to question these ratings, and get different opinions on the matter, because as trivial as it seems, the statistics are important for the science. If there was uncertainty between Katrina being a Cat 3 and a Cat 4 at landfall, I'd for sure love to see scientists get it right. Mainly right now I'm just curious why the PNS for the St. Clair tornado was mostly unchanged, but the winds went down from 180 mph to 150.

That is the problem I was having with BHM with this, the numbers change but the info behind the tornadoes don't.

[CUmet]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who follow these things more closely than I do...have there ever been any tornadoes in the relatively recent past which you felt were overrated?

[tornadotony]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who follow these things more closely than I do...have there ever been any tornadoes in the relatively recent past which you felt were overrated?

Salina KS 6/11/08 is the one that jumps to my mind...I know there are others but I can't remember exactly right now.

[Stebo]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who follow these things more closely than I do...have there ever been any tornadoes in the relatively recent past which you felt were overrated?

Honestly I can think of more that I thought were underrated than overrated personally

[thewxmann]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who follow these things more closely than I do...have there ever been any tornadoes in the relatively recent past which you felt were overrated?

I usually don't follow damage, this outbreak was an exception since I would like to fairly compare this outbreak to some of the greats of the past (and I've seen more damage photos than usual).

But, I do feel some outbreaks in the past have had overrated tornadoes... this however might just be me not seeing enough damage photos. If you disagree with members of this list, you are probably right.

6/11/08: Salina EF3 and Manhattan EF4

6/5/10: Millbury, OH... heard this was pretty marginal as EF4's go but I can't verify this first hand.

4/22/11: St. Louis EF4

2/5/08: Union University... the destruction to the dormitory was bad... but EF4?

[TheWeatherPimp]

I usually don't follow damage, this outbreak was an exception since I would like to fairly compare this outbreak to some of the greats of the past (and I've seen more damage photos than usual).

But, I do feel some outbreaks in the past have had overrated tornadoes... this however might just be me not seeing enough damage photos. If you disagree with members of this list, you are probably right.

6/11/08: Salina EF3 and Manhattan EF4

6/5/10: Millbury, OH... heard this was pretty marginal as EF4's go but I can't verify this first hand.

4/22/11: St. Louis EF4

2/5/08: Union University... the destruction to the dormitory was bad... but EF4?

No doubt in my mind that Millbury was an EF4 - witnessed the damage first hand - very narrow but very intense swath of damage.

[radarman]

Just out of curiosity for those of you who follow these things more closely than I do...have there ever been any tornadoes in the relatively recent past which you felt were overrated?

When the May 10th Norman/Little Axe tornado was upgraded to an EF4 after initially being rated EF3 I was a little surprised. I am far from an expert, but I did drive out to examine it personally just to get a better idea of what that sort of thing looks like. While certainly impressive, (especially seeing a low brick wall collapsed, and a large swath of trees snapped in half near Lake Thunderbird) I was expecting a little more. Not sure how others felt about that one.

[Amped]

Now down to 9 EF4s they downgraded all the ones with zero deaths.

I think Haleyville, Sawerville, New Wren, Raleigh MS, And Shoal Creek( Same cell asTuscolusa) will eventually get EF4 ratings. Rainsville and Tuscolusa to Birnmingham may very well get EF5s. Haleysville may also jump all the way from a EF3 to an EF5.

[SmokeEater]

Now down to 9 EF4s they downgraded all the ones with zero deaths.

I think Haleyville, Sawerville, New Wren, Raleigh MS, And Shoal Creek( Same cell asTuscolusa) will eventually get EF4 ratings. Rainsville and Tuscolusa to Birnmingham may very well get EF5s. Haleysville may also jump all the way from a EF3 to an EF5.

According to James Spann, from ABC 33/40 on his weekly show, Weatherbrains, he just now said the Rainsville to Tuscaloosa to Birmingham tornado was finalized as an EF4 yesterday.

[tornadotony]

According to James Spann, from ABC 33/40 on his weekly show, Weatherbrains, he just now said the Rainsville to Tuscaloosa to Birmingham tornado was finalized as an EF4 yesterday.

Rainsville is a separate tornado in DeKalb County.

[OHweather]

Now down to 9 EF4s they downgraded all the ones with zero deaths.

I think Haleyville, Sawerville, New Wren, Raleigh MS, And Shoal Creek( Same cell asTuscolusa) will eventually get EF4 ratings. Rainsville and Tuscolusa to Birnmingham may very well get EF5s. Haleysville may also jump all the way from a EF3 to an EF5.

Any reasoning why? I lost track honestly of all the EF-4s.

[SmokeEater]

Rainsville is a separate tornado in DeKalb County.

Ah ok, then just the BMX and Tuscaloosa one. I thought it was the same tornado.

[Amped]

According to James Spann, from ABC 33/40 on his weekly show, Weatherbrains, he just now said the Rainsville to Tuscaloosa to Birmingham tornado was finalized as an EF4 yesterday.

That makes me madder than a 958mb tropical storm and than a 972mb cat 3. It was the deadliest since 1955, and if you argue for a continuation to Shotsville, and then Ringold, TN, which was in fact what they did with the Tri State Twister, Than it is probably worse than 1955.

[thewxmann]

Here is the list of violent tornadoes I compiled on another forum today:

9 EF4's

1) Philadelphia, MS

2) Snell, MS

3) Cullman, AL

4) Jackson Co, AL

5) Rainsville, AL

6) Tuscaloosa-BHM, AL

7) Cordova, AL

8) Lake Martin, AL

9) Ringgold, GA - Cleveland, TN

2 EF5's

1) Smithville, MS

2) Hackelsburg - Phil Campbell, AL

They didnt downgrade the EF4's with "0 deaths" (and as far as I know all EF4 segments that have been surveyed have been killers), they just combined segments. The Tuscaloosa-BHM, Ringgold (TN portion) and Jackson Co, AL tornado have been designated with windspeeds of 190 mph, so they have a chance of attaining EF5 status. There is still a very outside shot of Calhoun to St. Clair being rated an EF4, and apparently there is still some discussion of the EF3's in the FFC area. Other than that, this list ought to remain stable.

[Fred Gossage]

In terms of violent tornadoes alone, that puts this outbreak in the extremely rare ranks alongside the Super Outbreak of 1974, the Palm Sunday 1965 outbreak, the MidSouth outbreak on March 21, 1952, and the Great Deep South outbreak of March 21, 1932. I hope people realize just how rare it is to have the number of (E)F4+ tornadoes in a single outbreak day to climb into the double digits... and for this to be over such a concentrated area, unlike a couple of the previous ones.....

[thewxmann]

In addition to the violence of these tornadoes, the long-track nature of these tornadoes indicates just how powerful and steady-state some of these mesocyclones were.

The Raleigh/Snell, MS track just got extended into BMX's territory - that tornado was on the ground for 123 miles, the third such >100 mi path length tornado during the outbreak. Hackleburg/Phil Campbell/Tanner measures in at 132 mi, and Cordova at least 104 mi.

Other notable long path lengths: Calhoun-St. Clair 98 mi (AL+GA combined), BHM 80 mi, Eoline 71 mi.

Together these five tornadoes traveled a total of 608 mi on the ground.

[North Balti Zen]

I usually don't follow damage, this outbreak was an exception since I would like to fairly compare this outbreak to some of the greats of the past (and I've seen more damage photos than usual).

But, I do feel some outbreaks in the past have had overrated tornadoes... this however might just be me not seeing enough damage photos. If you disagree with members of this list, you are probably right.

6/11/08: Salina EF3 and Manhattan EF4

6/5/10: Millbury, OH... heard this was pretty marginal as EF4's go but I can't verify this first hand.

4/22/11: St. Louis EF4

2/5/08: Union University... the destruction to the dormitory was bad... but EF4?

Re: the Jackson, TN/Union University tornado in 2008, I was living and working in Memphis, TN at the time (70 miles to the west/southwest, but my work took me up to Jackson quite a bit. I traveled fairly extensively the road (state route 70/Brownsville Rd.) just to the south of I-40 where that tornado first touched down before crossing I-40 and moving into Union Univ. The damage in the small town at that area was extensive, but none of the homes were leveled and none knocked off foundation. The damage at that point severe, but looked nothing like the pics from the EF-4s in Alabama. That said, I never had reason to go up on campus, and would guess that the EF-4 designation was solely based on the damage there (north of I-40). That tornado picked up shortly after hitting the campus, so between where it it set down and where it picked up, the worst of the damage was to Union and you are correct, I suspect, that the EF-4 damage/classification was based on that area. As to whether that is truly extensive enough damage to warrant an EF-4 desigation, I am not remotely qualified to offer an opinion.

[tornadotony]

Another EF4 in Tennessee...

711

NOUS44 KMRX 031327

PNSMRX

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MORRISTOWN TN

927 AM EDT TUE MAY 3 2011

...UPDATE TO STORM SURVEY RESULTS FROM SEQUATCHIE AND BLEDSOE

COUNTIES...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAMS ASSESSED TORNADO DAMAGE

IN SEQUATCHIE AND BLEDSOE COUNTIES YESTERDAY. THE SURVEY FOUND TWO

PARALLEL TRACK TORNADOES THAT OCCURRED NEAR DUNLAP AT THE SAME

TIME...AROUND 830 PM CDT.

ONE TORNADO BEGAN JUST EAST OF DUNLAP...AND TRACKED NORTHEAST BEFORE

DISSIPATING SHORT OF THE BLEDSOE COUNTY BORDER. THIS TORNADO WAS

RATED AN EF2 INTENSITY WITH WIND SPEEDS AROUND 110 MPH. THE PATH

LENGTH WAS 5 MILES...AND THE WIDTH WAS 250 YARDS.

ANOTHER TORNADO BEGAN TO THE SOUTHWEST OF DUNLAP...TRACKING

NORTHEAST AND PASSING EAST OF THE CITY. IT BEGAN AS AN EF1 WITH

WINDS AROUND 100 MPH. AS IT MOVE EAST OF DUNLAP...IT INTENSIFIED TO

AN EF2 WITH WINDS AROUND 120 MPH. THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO INTENSIFY

AS IT MOVED INTO BLEDSOE COUNTY...WHERE IT PRODUCED EF4 DAMAGE NEAR

NEW HARMONY. WIND SPEEDS WERE ESTIMATED AROUND 180 MPH. THE PATH

WIDTH WAS A HALF MILE. THERE WERE 4 FATALITIES AND 10 INJURIES WITH

THIS TORNADO. THE TOTAL PATH LENGTH OF THE TORNADO WAS 22 MILES.

THE SURVEY WAS COMPLETED BY TIM TROUTMAN...WARNING COORDINATION

METEOROLOGIST.

DGS

[xtreme weather]

Another EF4 in Tennessee...

Another EF-4 now per BMX PNS

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BIRMINGHAM AL

1015 AM CDT TUE MAY 3 2011

ARGO/SHOAL CREEK/OHATCHEE/FORNEY TORNADO (JEFFERSON/ST. CLAIR/CALHOUN/ETOWAH/CHEROKEE COUNTIES)

PRELIMINARY DATA...

EVENT DATE: APRIL 27, 2011

EVENT TYPE: EF-4 ESTIMATED PEAK WINDS (MPH): UP TO 180

INJURIES/FATALITIES: NUMEROUS INJURIES/UNKNOWN.

EVENT START LOCATION AND TIME: 33.6792/-86.5699 AT 623 PM

EVENT END LOCATION AND TIME: 34.0661/-85.420 AT 747 PM (AT GEORGIA STATE LINE)

DAMAGE PATH LENGTH (IN MILES): 72 MILES

DAMAGE WIDTH: UP TO 1.25 MILES

NOTE: CONTINUED INTO GEORGIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS SURVEYED THE DAMAGE PATH FROM EASTERN JEFFERSON COUNTY NORTHEAST TO CHEROKEE COUNTY.

IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT THE DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH A STRONG TORNADO. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR ARGO...BETWEEN DEERFOOT PARKWAY AND ADVENT ROAD...JUST NORTH OF INTERSTATE 59. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED EAST ACROSS THE INTERSTATE INTO ST. CLAIR COUNTY. THE TORNADO CAUSED EF-0 TO EF-1 DAMAGE AS IT TRACKED NEAR MARGARET AND NORTH OF ODENVILLE. JUST NORTHEAST OF ODENVILLE...THE TORNADO STRENGTHENED AND WIDENED CONSIDERABLY. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED EAST-NORTHEAST ALONG COUNTY ROAD 22...THROUGH SHOAL CREEK. DAMAGE ALL ALONG CR-22 WAS EXTENSIVE. SEVERAL HOMES HAD ALMOST ALL WALLS BLOWN OUT...AND ONE ROUGHLY 40 YEAR OLD HOME WAS COMPLETELY LEVELED. THE PATH CONTINUED EAST-NORTHEAST ACROSS NEELY HENRY LAKE INTO CALHOUN COUNTY. THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF DAMAGE WAS DONE ON THE EASTERN SHORES OF THE LAKE...JUST NORTH OF OHATCHEE. IN THIS AREA NUMEROUS HOMES AND MOBILE HOMES WERE COMPLETELY LEVELED...INDICATIVE OF A STRONG TORNADO. AT LEAST ONE WELL BUILT HOME WAS NEARLY SWEPT CLEAN OF EVERYTHING ABOVE ITS BASEMENT...SAVE FOR A FEW ITEMS OF FURNITURE. WINDS HERE WERE LIKELY UP TO 180 MPH. THE DAMAGE PATH AT THIS POINT REACHED ITS WIDEST... AROUND 1.25 MILES. THE TORNADO CONTINUED TO CAUSE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE ON AN EAST-NORTHEAST PATH ACROSS NORTHERN CALHOUN COUNTY...JUST SOUTH OF THE ETOWAH COUNTY LINE. ALL HOMES IN ITS PATH RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE AND MANY WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. A SMALL CHURCH ON ROCKY HOLLOW ROAD NEAR THE WEBSTER CHAPEL COMMUNITY WAS COMPLETELY LEVELED. THE TORNADO BRIEFLY WENT THROUGH SOUTHEAST ETOWAH COUNTY SOUTHEAST OF REAVES...CLIPPED A SMALL PORTION OF CALHOUN COUNTY ONE LAST TIME...THEN MOVED INTO CHEROKEE COUNTY. THERE IT DAMAGED NUMEROUS MORE HOMES AND MOBILE HOMES AS IT MOVED EAST-NORTHEASTWARD. THE TORNADO APPEARED TO WEAKEN BRIEFLY AS IT MOVED THROUGH FROG MOUNTAIN...BUT THEN IT WIDENED AND STRENGTHENED ONCE AGAIN BEFORE IT REACHED COUNTY ROAD 45 NORTH OF ROCK RUN. ON COUNTY ROAD 29 SOUTH OF FORNEY...AN APPARENTLY WELL BUILT FRAME HOME WAS COMPLETELY LEVELED TO THE GROUND BY WINDS THAT MAY HAVE EXCEEDED 150 MPH. THE TORNADO THEN MOVED INTO GEORGIA AT COUNTY ROAD 28. ALONG THE PATH...HUNDREDS OF STRUCTURES WERE DAMAGED AND DESTROYED...AND MANY THOUSANDS OF TREES WERE UPROOTED...SNAPPED...AND REDUCED TO SPIKED STUMPS.