Power Outage in East Dublin, GA

The Laurens County Emergency Management Director reported that a few trees and power lines were down in the East Dublin area, with a few more trees and power lines down east of East Dublin toward Brewton. A home near Brewton suffered minor roof damage. A barn in the same area also sustained moderate roof damage. Downed trees were noted along U.S. Highway 319 and Ernest Road, east of East Dublin.

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia confirmed that an EF2 tornado touched down in far northern Laurens county, just south of the Wilkinson county line. The tornado initially touched down as an EF0 tornado near the intersection of Old Macon Road and Oscar Wynn Road. The tornado quickly intensified to an EF2 tornado as it tracked almost due eastward and crossed U.S. Highway 441 at the 2700 block, about seven miles northwest of Dublin, or near the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and Evergreen Road. Here, a double-wide mobile home was destroyed and the occupants, a man and woman in their early 50s were both killed. Their two grandchildren sustained non-life threatening injuries. Another home along Evergreen Road was also destroyed as the EF2 tornado continued on its eastward track. The tornado continued eastward and weakened back to an EF0 as it crossed the Oconee River. The tornado then once again strengthened to an EF2 as it crossed Buckeye Road in the 2100 block, approximaltely four miles north-northeast of East Dublin. EF2 tornado damage was noted to a home at 2185 Buckeye Road and EF1 tornado damage to another home at 1533 Buckeye Road. In between the destruction to the homes on Evergreen Road and those on Buckeye Road, sporadic tree and power line damage was observed, mostly consistent with an EF0 intensity rating. The tornado path length was about 15 miles. A maximum path width of 250 yards was observed at the tornado crossed U.S. Highway 441 at Evergreen Road.||All together this tornado resulted in the destruction of two mobile homes, major damage to six other site built homes, some shifted off their foundations, one home with a missing roof, and many other homes with minor roof or siding damage. Numerous sheds and outbuildings were also destroyed. Several dozen trees were either uprooted or snapped off along the path of the tornado, along with several power lines.