National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

<-- Return to Tornado Climatology Map

Tift County, GA

Date Time (LST) F/EF-Scale Length (Miles) Maximum Width (Yards) Fatalities Injuries Property Damage Source*
1/30/1947 415 pm F2 2 400 0 4 $30,000 G

Moved ENE, passing west of Chula. A dozen homes were unroofed, shifted, blown down, or ripped apart.

1/28/1952 810 am F1 0.1 400 0 2 $250,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE in the NE part of Tifton. A dozen homes and businesses were damaged or unroofed. One person was injured in a service station, and another in a trailer.

1/20/1953 930 pm F1 8.3 150 0 1 $25,000 G, SD, SPC

Moved NE from Zion Hope to Harding. Two homes were torn apart and barns were destroyed. Tourist cabins were destroyed north of Tifton.

4/2/1955 500 pm F2 3.8 880 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
4/8/1957 400 pm F1 41 90 0 0 $250,000 G, SD, SPC

Skipped SE from near Chula to Harding, River Bend, Gladys, and Lax. A large home was unroofed near Chula. Other homes were shifted there. A barn and a lumber mill were destroyed in the short stretch of path near Douglas.

3/31/1962 1230 pm F1 n/a 200 0 0 $25,000 G, SD, SPC

Several homes and the American Legion Hall were unroofed in the SE part of Tifton.

12/25/1964 340 pm F2 16 300 0 0 $250,000 SD, SPC
5/8/1967 900 pm F0 0.5 33 0 0 $2,500 SD, SPC
5/22/1967 1000 am F2 0.5 30 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
5/15/1969 500 am F2 2 33 0 0 $2,500 SD, SPC
4/8/1974 615 pm F1 14 250 1 0 $2,500 G, SD, SPC

Skipped E from near Lester, where one woman was killed in a mobile home. The next significant damage was at Alapaha, where the police station was destroyed.

5/8/1978 1012 pm F1 7 33 0 0 $25,000 SD, SPC
11/10/1979 200 pm F1 5 50 0 0 $250,000 SD, SPC
5/20/1980 955 am F1 2 77 0 0 $2,500 SD, SPC
12/5/1983 908 pm F1 4 100 0 0 n/a SD, SPC
4/15/1985 830 pm F1 1 20 0 0 $2,500 SD, SPC
11/7/1995 500 pm F0 0.1 30 0 0 n/a SD, SPC

A tornado briefly touched down just north of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College causing no damage according to county Emergency Management.

2/14/2000 142 am F2 5 200 0 10 $2,000,000 SD, SPC

A strong tornado crossed U.S. Highway 319 from extreme northeast Colquitt County into extreme southwest Tift County, just south of Omega. Twelve mobile homes and eight pre-fabricated homes were destroyed. Numerous frame homes were damaged, including some moved off their block foundations. Ten people were injured. Numerous trees and power lines were down. Just northeast of Omega, a school bus was blown into a nearby home. Tift County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by the Tift County EMA.

3/2/2007 1242 am EF1 6 150 0 0 $600,000 SD, SPC

The EF1 tornado touched down west of Chula. It damaged 20 homes, of which seven were heavily damaged and 13 suffered minor damage. The tornado also snapped and uprooted numerous trees before it crossed into southeastern Turner County.

2/21/2014 829 am EF0 2.22 300 0 0 $100,000 SD

A fairly narrow corridor of damage points began west of Salem Church Rd about 0.8 mi south of Hwy 82 to the WSW of the city of Tifton. In these areas, mainly tree damage was noted with some large tree limbs snapped and a few trees uprooted. This damage path continued ENE into the vicinity of the Little River, before re-emerging just south of (and along) Hwy 82 near some residences and businesses. The first area affected was a neighborhood of manufactured homes centered around a pond along the south side of Highway 82. Tree damage was noted just south of this with some snapped trees and limbs. One home that was sitting on blocks slid off the blocks and was blown approximately 20 feet. Most of the other homes had only minor damage. A chain link fence was blown down to the north on the south side of the pond, while two billboards mounted on wooden poles were blown down to the west right along Highway 82 (north of the pond). The wooden support poles were snapped. This was indicative of a convergent damage pattern associated with a tornado. Just to the east, near the intersection of Hwy 82 and Marshall Drive, two sheds were flipped and blown back to the southwest - further indicating a convergent damage pattern. Other light debris along Highway 82 was blown in a similar direction. The tornado likely then shifted its motion to slightly south of east, and affected several more businesses north of Marshall Drive and south of Highway 82. Security camera footage from a business in this area showed some swirling rain curtains before very low visibility in strong winds prior to a loss of power. A metal building under construction near the intersection of Carpenter Rd and Marshall Dr was damaged and partially collapsed. Because construction was incomplete, it likely made it easier for the wind to cause the structure to fail. As the tornado crossed Carpenter Rd it likely began to dissipate as damage began to get more sporadic further east by Highway 319. There was some tree damage east of Carpenter Rd, and both the Lowe's and Wal-Mart to the south of Highway 82 indicated they had some minor roof damage with some AC units moved or tipped over. Monetary damage was estimated.

1/4/2015 1127 am EF1 0.33 100 0 0 $3,000 SD

A brief EF1 tornado touched down about 2.3 miles WNW of Omega. A portion of a screened-in porch was blown down, and a large portion of the roof of a small, old, barn building was removed. There were also some 8-12 inch diameter pine trees snapped at their trunks. Max winds were estimated at 95 mph.

1/4/2015 1145 am EF1 0.27 100 0 0 $10,000 SD

In addition to several downed trees, there was substantial damage to the roof at a church in Brookfield. During their Sunday morning Service, church members quickly took cover under their pews when the wind became loud and their heavy front door was torn apart. The main damage occurred when the steeple fell to the ground. Several shingles were stripped from the roof, and two church storage sheds were destroyed. Miraculously no one was injured. There were several more trees down with this tornado than the first one, including large pine trees (2-3 ft diameter) and large magnolia trees. Max winds were estimated at 100 mph.

12/2/2018 922 am EF0 1.86 600 0 0 $10,000 SD

A tornado touched down near Ty Ty Sparks Rd north of US 319 and traveled northeast across Flat Ford Rd and Keith-Fletcher Rd. The tornado lifted just after crossing Ty Ty Omega Rd. Damage was primarily confined to irrigation systems and trees. A substation sustained some damage as well. The tornado is rated EF0 with estimated maximum winds of 85 mph.

3/3/2019 745 pm EF1 0.72 180 0 0 $50,000 SD

An EF-1 tornado briefly touched down at the edge of a farm damaging snapping and uprooting trees along the path. Some were peach trees. When the tornado crossed Urbana Road, it blew out part of the foundation of a large garage causing the associated wall to bow outward. There was significant shingle damage to the roof of this building. A bit further from the road, the tornado moved a large trailer, filled with air conditioning units and estimated to weigh 7000 lb in total, about 3 feet. The metal roof of the structure sheltering this and other vehicles was partially uplifted. The tornado lifted just beyond the edge of the property line. Damage cost was estimated.

4/13/2020 438 am EF1 1.51 100 0 0 $100,000 SD

A brief tornado touched down just southwest of Highway 82, west of Ty Ty, GA where there was minor structural damage as well as widespread trees being uprooted and snapped. The tornado moved northeast and crossed Highway 82 where a member of the public reported seeing it. It then continued northeast with damage reported on Little River Road and Whiddon Mill Road which was consistent with radar signatures. Thank you to Worth County GA Emergency Management officials in their help in collecting damage points and pictures.

4/6/2022 1029 pm EFU 1.88 25 0 0 $0 SD

This tornado was confirmed via video on social media and photo from emergency management. Other than a few trees down, no damage of note has been reported from this tornado, which passed through mostly farmland and unpopulated rural areas of Colquitt, Worth, and Tift counties. Therefore, the rating is left as EF Unknown. The location and time is estimated from the video, photos, and radar data.

*Sources

G - Grazulis, T. P., 1993: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991.  A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films, Tornado Project, St. Johsnbury, VT.
SD - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1950-2016: Storm Data. National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.
SPC - Storm Prediction Center Database