February 15th, 2021 Damascus and other Tornadoes

Overview

A cold front moved through the tri-state region on the afternoon of February 15, 2021. Several tornado warnings were issued, along with many severe thunderstorm warnings. The main feature that made this event significant was a single storm that traveled onshore in Bay County, FL. The storm persisted for over 2 hours as it traveled quickly northeast into southwestern Georgia. Along its path, several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued along with at least 5 tornado warnings. In total, there were 3 confirmed tornadoes from this storm, with the strongest being an EF-2 that impacted Damascus, GA.

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Radar imagery from the storm as it developed offshore of Bay county. It continue to cycle as it moved northeast. It would produce three tornadoes, including the EF-2 tornado that impacted Damascus, GA.

Regional overview of the warnings our office issued during this severe weather event. Red boxes are tornado warnings, yellow are severe thunderstorm warnings, and purple are special marine warnings.

Tornado Information
Photos

Storm Information

Tornado - Panama City Beach, Bay County
Florida

Date	February 15, 2021
Time	2:01pm CST
EF Rating (Max)	0
Est. Peak Winds	85 mph
Path Length	1.31 miles
Max Width	50 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: Brief EF-0 tornado came onshore just west of Pier Park shortly after 2pm CT on February 15th. Minor damage to structures near the beach was noted, along with damage to poles, bleachers, and fencing at Frank Brown Park before the tornado dissipated. The tornado is estimated to have had peak winds around 85 mph and less than 50 yards wide. Additional damage to the east of the path was likely due to damaging straight line winds from the Rear Flank Downdraft of the parent supercell. Winds in this area may have been as high as 80 mph.

Track Map

Track Map EF-Scale

Tornado - Washington County
Florida

Date	February 15, 2021
Time	2:38pm CST
EF Rating (Max)	0
Est. Peak Winds	85
Path Length	0.70 miles
Max Width	100 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: A tornado briefly touched down near Wheeler Lane and tracked north-northeast for a short distance before lifting. On the Wheeler Farm property, an outbuilding was pulled from its anchorage and lofted about 20 yards. It has been anchored by wooden poles in concrete, although the concrete was shallow. Nearby outbuildings were not damaged. A few pine trees along the driveway of the property were snapped. Further north on Wheeler lane, a double wide manufactured home has some roof damage. Other trees were uprooted on Pineoaks Lane and Akers Trail. The damage was consistent with a high end EF-0 rating.

Track Map

Track Map EF-Scale

Tornado - Damascus, GA - Early/Baker County
Georgia

Date	February 15, 2021
Time	4:38pm EST
EF Rating (Max)	2
Est. Peak Winds	130 mph
Path Length	11.60 miles
Max Width	600
Injuries/Deaths	5 injuries
Summary: A tornado touched down just west of Highway 45 south of Damascus in Early County, Georgia. Along Highway 45 the tornado snapped a few trees and damaged the roofs of a couple of houses. The tornado crossed the highway moving northeast and reached peak intensity as it hit homes along Killebrew Rd. Two homes and a detached garage along Killebrew Rd were destroyed down to their foundations, which were not anchored. One home was constructed of concrete block which collapsed. The other home was constructed of wood with a concrete block foundation. The 5 injuries noted came from these two homes. A truck was tossed from the detached garage and onto the homes. Several trees were uprooted and snapped, with other cars sustaining heavy damage. A large tree was uprooted behind the homes and thrown about 100 yards into the front yard. Two instances were noted of small metal pole projectiles lodged into trees. Another house nearby sustained heavy damage to the roof and had portions of the exterior walls fail. A propane gas tank was dislodged and moved at this location as well. Powerlines were knocked down and most trees were snapped or uprooted along this section of the path. After the tornado crossed Killebrew Rd, it headed northeast and appeared to weaken. Trees snapped and uprooted were observed along the rest of the track along Po Boy Lane, Pullen Rd, GA Highway 200, Big Pond Rd, County Rd 3, Billy Newberry Rd, County Rd 119, Patmos Milford Hwy, and Julia Jones Rd. Damage sustained in these areas were mostly tree damage along with a couple instances of minor roof damage. The tornado lifted in Baker County after crossing Julia Jones Rd.

Track Map

Track Map EF-Scale

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph