Becoming Severe Weather Ready in the Western Carolinas and Northeast Georgia

Although they account for only 1-2 percent of all tornadoes, violent tornadoes are responsible for 70% of the 62 fatalities associated with tornadoes that occur across the United States in a typical year. This trend also holds true in the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia, where 64% of tornado-related deaths that

Fig. 11. The number of days from 1950 to 2008 with an EF2 or stronger tornado within 200 square miles of any point.

decade. Peak tornado season is March through May. Roughly half of the tornadoes that touch down across the area occur during this three-month period. However, tornadoes have been reported in every month, with October, December, and January being the least active months. Similar to other severe weather threats,

have occurred since 1950 have been the result of F4 tornadoes.

Tornadoes in this area are most common in the piedmont. On average, piedmont counties experience a tornado once every two or three years. Due to the rugged terrain across the mountains, tornadoes are extremely rare, generally occurring only once in a

late afternoon through early evening are the favored time of day for tornadoes.

Strong and violent tornadoes occur across piedmont counties about once every 10 years on average. Meanwhile, strong and violent tornadoes are almost unheard of across the mountains, with only a handful of mountain counties reporting the occurrence of an EF2 or stronger tornado since 1950. However, the April 27, 2011 EF3 tornado that devastated the Lake Burton area in Rabun County, GA serves as a reminder that mountainous areas are not immune to strong tornadoes.

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