Power Outage in Weston, GA

A National Weather Service survey team found that the tornado that began in Randolph County and moved across southeastern Stewart County moved into Webster County at EF1 intensity, with maximum wind speeds of 104 MPH and a maximum path width of 880 yards, south of Goodwins Pond Road. The tornado continued moving east crossing Highway 41 and Highway 520 before ending around the intersection of Hudson Leverette Road and County Road 23. The damage was mostly to trees, power lines, and small farm outbuildings. One peanut farm storage building was destroyed, but fortunately the employees had been sent home earlier in the day due to the threat for severe weather. The owner of the farm had left minutes prior to the arrival of the tornado after receiving a phone call stating that Weston was in the path of the storm. No injuries were reported. [04/05/17: Tornado #3, County #2/2, EF-1, Stewart, Webster, 2017:062].

The Americus Times Recorder reported that thunderstorm winds caused significant damage within Webster county. A total of 12 mobile homes, one brick home, a pole barn, and a sanitation shop sustained minor to moderate damage. The majority of the damage was from Lynn Lane at Georgia Highway 520 northeastward through the county. Numerous trees and power lines were down within this same area.

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, GA concluded that a strong, violent, and long-lived EF3 tornado tracked across southeast Webster, much of Sumter, and far southern Macon counties. The tornado touched down near Chambliss on the Webster/Terrell county line and tracked east-northeast exiting the county into Sumter county near Bottsford. While the overall path length of the tornado was around 40 miles, the path length within Webster county was between seven and eight miles. While the tornado reached its maximum path width of 1.0 mile in Sumter county near Americus, it was determined to be less than this within Webster county. A path of significant damage was noted across southeast Webster county. A concrete block house and two machine shops on East Centerpoint Road just northeast of Chambliss were completely destroyed. Three injuries resulted from the damage here. Twenty-five feet of asphalt in front of the home was also ripped up by the tornado. On a nearby farm, five cows were killed when they were tossed about by the tornado. A tractor-trailer traveling on Georgia Highway 520 near Chambliss was overturned causing it to catch on fire and burn. Very nearby, at the intersection of Georgia Highway 520 and TV Tower Road, a 1096 foot Georgia Public Television transmission tower was destroyed when two-thirds of the tower was twisted off by the tornado and destroyed. Only 150 feet of the 1096 foot tower was left standing after the tornado passed. Numerous trees and power lines were also down in the area.