BREMEN, Ga. - Major storms across west Georgia spun up three confirmed tornadoes, the National Weather Service reported on Thursday
The rough weather swept through parts of the state the previous day leaving NWS meteorologists suspecting possible tornadic activities, but it wasn't until they got on the ground that they were able to confirm it by surveying the damage.
The first tornado made landfall around 7:43 a.m. on the west side of Bremen, Georgia in Haralson County just north of Tallapoosa Street and Swell Road. It continued northeast toward Kaiser Street where it snapped multiple large trees at the base or uprooted them entirely. One of those trees fell onto a duplex causing significant damage to the building and two vehicles.
At this point, the tornado reached its peak at an 85 mph EF-0 twister. It also spanned 250 yards in width. It continued northeast snapping and uprooting several more trees between Church and Gordon streets before dissipating at 7:45 p.m.
In the two minutes this tornado was on the ground it traveled a little a mile, the NWS reported.
The second, more powerful tornado touched down around 9:03 a.m. about five miles southwest of Franklin, Georgia in Heard County on Butler Road. From there, the storm moved toward Victory Road causing widespread damage, snapping or uprooting at least a dozen trees At this point the storm was at its widest, spanning 250 yards.
The storm continued up to the intersection of Highway 219 and Victory Road and then across Boggus Road near Noles Road snapping another dozen trees as it reached speeds of around 95 mph - making it an EF-1 tornado.
It moved north of Bevis and Brush Creek roads before finally letting up, traveling a little over 5 miles in as many minutes.
The final confirmed tornado appeared in Talbot County about three miles west of Junction City near the intersection of Carlyle and Taylor roads around 11:10 a.m.
There, it managed to snap or uproot a few small softwood trees before continuing eastward doing the same to about 15 to 20 more. near Georgia highways 96 and 90. As the storm entered Junction City, it ripped siding from a small pole barn on Rock Church Road while snapping more small trees.
It continued to snap trees before dissipating near Broadwood Circle. In 4 minutes, the tornado traveled about 4 miles on the ground. The storm never surpassed 85 mph meaning it was classified as an EF-0 tornado.
