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  Remembering The Devastation of

April 27th & 28th, 2011

April 27^th and 28^th of 2011 will go down in history as one of the most devastating tornado outbreak days in U.S. history.  This event was even bigger than the April 3-4, 1974 Super Outbreak, when 148 tornadoes ravaged portions of the southeast into the Ohio River Valley. April 27^th started off with a strong area of low pressure lifting through the Ohio valley allowing a cold front to sweep through the lower Mississippi Valley during the evening hours of April 27^th. Ahead of the front, increased moisture emanating off the Gulf of Mexico combined with a potent upper level system to produce widespread severe weather. All of north and central Georgia was placed under a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms and northwest Georgia was covered by a rare high risk area. As the evening progressed, a Tornado Watch was issued with the designation of PDS, or Particularly Dangerous Situation, indicating a high potential for strong and long lived tornadoes. Numerous long-tracked tornadoes, including two EF-5 tornadoes, raked over much of the southeast states causing extensive damage and, unfortunately, loss of life. In total, 15 tornadoes tracked across the Peachtree City forecast area, which includes most of north and central Georgia. The total number of confirmed tornadoes from April 25^th to 28^th was 178. See this NOAA web site for the latest summary information for the outbreak.

Storm surveys were conducted in the days following the event. Information posted below is based on results from survey teams and will be updated as additional information is received.

 If you would like to see the full write up for that day please visit our summary page for this event.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/?n=20110427_svrstorms