At least one tornado was confirmed to have touched down early Friday in west Georgia during overnight storms.
The tornado was reported in Troup County between 4:20 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. The twister was determined to have been an EF1 with winds up to 90 mph, Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Brad Nitz said. It traveled east through the LaGrange area and parallel to Ga. 109 for nearly six miles, the NWS said.
Friday’s storms also caused structural damage and downed trees and power lines in the area, according to Channel 2. Powerful winds damaged the roof of the county health department building and destroyed one house, the news station reported.
The tornado was confirmed about a month after deadly storms caused severe damage to buildings and homes in North Georgia. At least 12 tornadoes, including a powerful EF3, touched down across the state, killing three people.
Two EF2 tornadoes were reported in Troup County during last month’s storms, including one that was tracked from Alabama. It snapped trees along West Point Lake and caused damage to shingles and gutters on a few homes, according to the NWS.
About 45 minutes later, a long-track and powerful EF2 was reported southeast of LaGrange along the Troup and Meriwether county line, according to the NWS. That twister snapped or uprooted more than 1,000 trees while reaching maximum winds of 120 mph. It destroyed several homes as it traveled east-northeast, including one on Ground Hog Drive that broke in half and shifted 20 yards off its foundation, the NWS said.
The January storms impacted many families in LaGrange, including Cassidy and Brian Johnson, a recently married couple who lost their home and “almost everything,” according to a GoFundMe post. The couple, who have an infant boy, hope to start over and find a place to rent or purchase.
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