The Good Friday Severe Weather Outbreak of April 10, 2009

Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rainfall in the Northern Plains and Midwest; Fire Weather Threat in the West

Severe thunderstorms will continue to be possible over parts of the northern Plains and upper Midwest through Saturday which could bring large hail, damaging winds, and possible tornadoes. Heavy to excessive rainfall may produce flooding over a part of the Midwest today. Elevated to critical fire weather are expected today into this weekend over parts of the central Rockies and Great Basin. Read More >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG SC 959 PM EDT SAT APR 10 2009 ...TORNADO CONFIRMED IN NORTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY GA... LOCATION...6 NNE CARNESVILLE...FRANKLIN COUNTY GA DATE...APRIL 10TH 2009 ESTIMATED TIME...655 TO 701 PM MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING/CAUSE...EF1 ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...110 MPH MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...200 YARDS PATH LENGTH...4.5 MILES A NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TEAM FOUND AN AREA OF TORNADO DAMAGE IN NORTHERN FRANKLIN COUNTY THAT BEGAN NEAR FARMERS ACADEMY ROAD ABOUT ONE HALF MILE SOUTH OF THE HIGHWAY 106 INTERSECTION. THE TORNADO TRAVELED EAST/NORTHEAST...MOVING ACROSS CRUMPS BRIDGE RD...HIGHWAY 145...AND CLARKS CREEK RD BEFORE LIFTING NEAR THE STEPHENS COUNTY LINE. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED OR SNAPPED OFF ALONG THE PATH. STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS GENERALLY MINOR. HOWEVER...THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED TO A COMPLEX OF LARGE CHICKEN HOUSES ON CRUMPS BRIDGE RD. ONE CHICKEN HOUSE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED...AND SEVERAL OTHERS SUSTAINED MAJOR DAMAGE. THE DAMAGE OBSERVED WAS CONSISTENT WITH WIND SPEEDS OF 100-110 MPH...MAKING THIS A STRONG EF1 TORNADO ON THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE. FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. $$ LANE