A “brief” tornado rolled through Chatsworth on Wednesday afternoon, with winds reaching 90 miles per hour that caused “significant” damage but no injuries along the three-mile path, according to the National Weather Service.
The tornado was classified as EF-1, which is on the lower end of the tornado scale. Winds from an EF-1 tornado are between 86 and 110 mph. The tornado’s path width was 150 yards.
The tornado touched down at 4:26 p.m. and lasted five minutes. It began just west of the Chatsworth city limits and east of Georgia Highway 225 where it destroyed a barn along Dogwood Circle. From there, the tornado went east and damaged a tractor-trailer storage facility along Lowy Road and overturned a semi-trailer. Many trees in the area were downed or snapped.
The tornado continued east where it hit an industrial building at the intersection of Highland Road and Treadwell Road, peeling back large parts of the roof. An apartment complex across the street had “significant” shingle damage and some minor roof structure damage. The tornado continued east along Keller Drive where trees were snapped and uprooted.
From there, the tornado caused “significant damage” to the Murray County High School baseball field where the fence and a cinderblock wall were blown down. Bleachers were blown onto the field and the press box was damaged.
The tornado crossed West Chestnut Street in Chatsworth where trees were snapped and uprooted. A fence was blown down and a carport collapsed onto a car in this area. The tornado weakened and lifted as it crossed U.S. Highway 411.
“The majority of the damage along the path was considered high-end EF-0 damage associated with winds of 80 to 85 mph,” according to the National Weather Service. “The damages to the barn and to the baseball field were slightly greater and justify the low-end EF-1 rating.”
by Staff Reports
March 3, 2017
