NEW INFORMATION:
The National Weather Service has updated the EF-0 tornado that touched down in Southwest Leon County Monday morning to an EF-1 on Friday with peak winds up to 90mph. NWS says it was on the ground for 22 minutes.
There were no injuries or fatalities.
Final Update:
The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-1 tornado for Grady County Monday morning with wind speeds up to 110mph. NWS says that the same storm ended in Thomas County. For Colquitt County, NWS also confirms it was an EF-1 tornado with winds speeds up to 95mph.
NWS says an EF-1 tornado also touched down in Northern Leon County with wind speeds up to 105mph.
NWS says there were no injuries or fatalities reported.
Update:
The National Weather Service has preliminary confirmed an EF-0 tornado with winds up to 80mph, touched down in Southwest Leon County Monday morning. NWS is still surveying damage in Grady, Thomas, and Colquitt counties,
Original:
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee will send two survey crews to damage sites in the Big Bend and South Georgia Tuesday morning.
The two confirmed survey locations include damage in northern Grady County into southwest Colquitt County, and damage locations in western Leon County.
The area in northern Leon County into southern Grady County was surveyed Monday after storms passed.
Review of Monday's storm activity:
Three storms were radar-confirmed tornadoes Monday.
This means there was enough rotation to prompt a Tornado Warning, and there was also a ball of debris (debris signature on radar) that accompanied the storm.
This Tornadic Debris Signature (TDS) can be seen by a product through radar called Coefficient Correlation.
Most tornadoes in the south are rain-wrapped, meaning tornadoes in our neighborhood are typically hidden under a coat of heavy rain and not visible to those on the ground.
Looking at velocity, coefficient correlation, and other radar products can confirm if a tornado is on the ground without visual confirmation.
Radar confirmation of tornadoes happened on three occasions Monday in the Big Bend and South Georgia.
The first: Grady County into Colquitt County
Just after 11 AM, a tornado warning was issued for northeastern Grady County into southwestern Colquitt County.
Shortly after issuance, a debris signature appeared on radar, and the storm become a radar-confirmed tornado.
Damage in the area included the neighborhoods of Akridge (Grady County) and Chastain (Colquitt County).
The second: Western Leon County
A radar-confirmed tornado was first issued for western Leon County.
No damage reports came from this warning, but that doesn't mean damage didn't occur.
This radar-confirmed tornado occurred in a heavily forested area.
No structural damage was done, but tree damage would be the most likely culprit of the debris signature on radar.
This storm occurred around 11:45 AM.
The third: northern Leon County into southwest Grady County
A radar-confirmed warning was issued for northern Leon County starting just after 12:00 PM Monday afternoon.
Reports of damage occurred in the Leon County neighborhood of Iamonia near the Grady County line.
Shortly after the warning was extended into Thomas County, the warning was expired.
The debris signature fell apart shortly after entering Thomas County, meaning the tornado was not as likely to still be on the ground.
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