The Good Friday Severe Weather Outbreak of April 10, 2009

Extreme Heat in the Central US Expands to the East; Heavy Rains from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes

Dangerous, long-lasting heat remains across the Mid-South to Mid-Mississippi Valley, while heat expands into the Northeast for a brief period on Friday. Strong to isolated severe thunderstorms and heavy rain pose a flash flooding threat from from the southern High Plains east to the Great Lakes. Tropical Depression 12W brings heavy rain to Guam & the Marianas through Saturday. 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