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Date | Time (LST) | F/EF-Scale | Length (Miles) | Maximum Width (Yards) | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage | Source* |
7/6/1916 | 230 am | F2 | 2 | n/a | 1 | 3 | n/a | G |
This hurricane-spawned tornado moved NW, 10m N of Cairo. The death and injuries were in one destroyed home. It was carried 150 feet, then blown apart and scattered over a 10-acre field. |
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7/6/1916 | 500 pm | F2 | 2 | n/a | 0 | 2 | n/a | G |
Moved NW, passing 10m N of Cairo. Two homes were destroyed. |
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3/12/1923 | 900 am | F2 | n/a | n/a | 0 | 10 | $10,000 | G |
Twenty small homes were destroyed as a tornado hit the little sawmill town of "Boydville," 18m E of Bainbridge. Pieces of homes were "left swinging in telephone wires," a half mile away. |
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10/31/1932 | 300 pm | F2 | 15 | 100 | 1 | 30 | $20,000 | G |
Moved NE, passing a few miles south of Cairo, tearing apart 29 smaller homes and unroofing several larger ones. About 100 people were made homeless, and a man died from injuries several weeks after the tornado. Tow other people may have died. |
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9/4/1948 | n/a | F2 | 5 | n/a | 0 | 0 | n/a | G |
Moved NE, passing a few miles south of Cairo, tearing apart 29 smaller homes and unroofing several larger ones. About 100 people were made homeless, and a man died from injuries several weeks after the tornado. Tow other people may have died. |
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8/17/1958 | 400 pm | F1 | 0.1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | $2,500 | SD, SPC |
4/12/1961 | 700 am | F1 | 0.3 | 150 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 | SD, SPC |
2/28/1966 | 800 am | F1 | 2 | 300 | 0 | 0 | $2,500 | SD |
4/18/1969 | 900 am | F2 | 0.2 | 50 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 | SD |
12/29/1970 | 1100 am | F2 | 5 | 400 | 0 | 4 | $2,500 | SD, SPC |
1/15/1971 | 140 pm | F1 | 0.5 | 50 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 | SD, SPC |
4/29/1971 | 450 pm | F2 | 10 | 300 | 0 | 2 | $2,500,000 | G, SD, SPC |
Moved E and ESE from NW of Whigham, to the north edge of Cairo and beyond. About 2000 pecan trees were downed in rural areas, and 50-60 homes, barns, and trailers were destroyed near Cairo. |
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4/30/1976 | 1017 pm | F1 | 0.1 | 60 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 | SD |
3/30/1989 | 730 am | F1 | 0.3 | 30 | 0 | 0 | $25,000 | SD, SPC |
11/11/1995 | 1230 pm | F1 | 1 | 100 | 0 | 0 | $100,000 | SD, SPC |
A tornado blew down many large trees and damaged five residences. |
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11/11/1995 | 1240 pm | F1 | 2 | 100 | 0 | 0 | $200,000 | SD, SPC |
A tornado caused intermittent damage on a track parallel to GA Highway 188. One unoccupied moble home was completely destroyed. Several other frame homes received serious damage. |
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2/14/2000 | 1249 am | F3 | 9 | 300 | 6 | 15 | $3,500,000 | SD, SPC |
A strong tornado tore through northern Grady County, then crossed into extreme northwestern Thomas County. Fifteen homes were destroyed and numerous damaged. Fifteen persons were injured, mostly from flying debris. Six fatalities were confirmed by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency: four deaths in mobile homes and two in a woodframe home. Scores of pecan trees were uprooted, pine trees snapped and power lines toppled. Farmers suffered major losses to irrigation equipment, trailers and shelters. Eight chicken houses were flattened, killing a half million chickens. Grady County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by the Grady County EMA. M64PH, F63PH, F54MH, M85MH, F1MH, F28MH |
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3/15/2001 | 611 am | F2 | 5 | 200 | 0 | 9 | $1,000,000 | SD, SPC |
The F2 tornado raced northeast from just southeast of Climax in Decatur County to just southeast of Whigham in Grady County, then dissipated. Nine persons were injured, one critically. Ten homes were damaged and two homes destroyed on Piney Grove Road four miles southwest of Whigham. A half dozen homes were damaged two miles southwest of Whigham at the intersection of Attapulgus and Cleon Roads. Additionally, ten barns and sheds were damaged and eight trailers destroyed. Numerous trees and power lines down with outages. Reported by the Grady County EMA and a SKYWARN storm spotter. |
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2/16/2003 | 825 am | F1 | 0.4 | 150 | 0 | 0 | $75,000 | SD, SPC |
A tornado briefly touched down on Ridge Road, just south of the Grady-Mitchell county line. It damaged two homes, and knocked down trees and power lines. The tornado moved northeast into southern Mitchell County. Reported by the Grady County EMA. |
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9/15/2004 | 519 pm | F1 | 15 | 100 | 0 | 0 | $150,000 | SD, SPC |
A tornado damaged five homes and several chicken houses in Whigham. Numerous downed trees and power lines blocked several roads along its path. Reported by the Grady County EMA. |
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2/18/2008 | 200 am | EF1 | 3.9 | 75 | 0 | 1 | $150,000 | SD, SPC |
The same supercell thunderstorm which spawned the brief EF0 tornado in southeastern Grady County produced an EF1 tornado just west of State Highway 93 on Courtney Lane. Mobile homes along Courtney Lane suffered minor roof damage and skirting was torn from their bases. Also, numerous trees were snapped or uprooted. The tornado traveled northeast and uprooted several trees near two homes on Shorty Lane. A mobile home lost portions of its roof. A single family home lost a few shingles off its roof. Two homes east of Shorty Lane on Wilcox Road were damaged. The tornado then moved along Pine Forest Road east of State Highway 111. About a mile up Pine Forest Road, a mobile home was destroyed with the free standing carport tossed 200 yards into the nearby forest. The occupant of the mobile home was injured when it rolled over. The roof and exterior walls were destroyed. The frame remained attached to the undercarriage of the mobile home. |
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2/19/2009 | 1250 am | EF2 | 5.9 | 250 | 0 | 0 | $1,000,000 | SD, SPC |
A tornado touched down near Rawls and Lewis Roads just west of Georgia Highway 93. Damage along Rawls Road was limited to uprooted or snapped trees. One horse trailer was tipped over. The tornado continued eastward and moved a double wide modular home off its foundation on the west side of Holstein Lane. On the east side of Holstein Lane, a large cinder-block building was severely damaged, with the top level of the structure destroyed and lower west- and south-side facing walls collapsed. Three large grain silos south of the building were damaged or destroyed, and two large barns 50 yards to the east were destroyed. The tornado crossed Georgia Highway 93 just north of Lewis Road and plowed through a pine forest along the north side of Lower Cairo Road. Before crossing into Thomas County, over 95 percent of the trees near Plantation Drive adjacent to Lower Cairo Road were snapped. According to the Grady County Emergency Management Agency, a total of 15 homes were damaged, with about 300 residents without power. |
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11/1/2015 | 345 pm | EF0 | 0.08 | 50 | 0 | 0 | $10,000 | SD |
A brief tornado touched down near the intersection of Pine Level and Ridge Road in northern Grady county . The primary damage was to pine trees with minor roof damage to a mobile home. Law enforcement witnessed the tornado. This tornado was rated EF0 with max winds around 75 mph. Damage cost was estimated. |
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2/24/2016 | 245 am | EF1 | 12.81 | 400 | 0 | 0 | $20,000 | SD |
The tornado touched down southeast of Whigham and traveled northeast, crossing Highway 84 between Whigham and Cairo. The tornado lifted northeast of Cairo. The bulk of the damage was to trees and power lines with some minor damage to a few homes, mainly caused by falling trees. The strongest winds were likely along Providence Road where multiple trees were snapped at various levels. In addition, a partially strapped mobile home was moved from its foundation just north of Cairo. Six people were inside the mobile home, and nobody was injured. This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 90 mph. Damage cost was estimated. |
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3/31/2016 | 638 pm | EF0 | 0.29 | 50 | 0 | 0 | $2,000 | SD |
Two separate witnesses reported a brief tornado touchdown near Godwin Lane and County Line Road 262. The only damage was to power lines. This tornado was rated EF0. |
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3/3/2019 | 754 pm | EF2 | 2.68 | 800 | 0 | 2 | $1,000,000 | SD |
An EF-2 tornado, with maximum winds of 120 mph, tracked 2.7 miles across Grady County in the Cairo area. The tornado touched down on Monrovia Nursery, downing 100s of potted plants and numerous trees in the forest. The tornado continued to track northeastward, downing numerous trees, many of which fell on homes causing structural damage. In one of the harder hit areas, the roof was torn off of a single family home and a carport was destroyed. The tornado eventually lifted northeast of Hwy 84. Two injuries were sustained from the storm. Damage cost was estimated. |
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*Sources |
G - Grazulis, T. P., 1993: Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991. A Chronology and Analysis of Events. Environmental Films, Tornado Project, St. Johsnbury, VT. |