PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
515 PM EDT WED MAY 1 2002

...STRAIGHT LINE WINDS AND F0/F1 TORNADO DAMAGE IN GORDON COUNTY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CONFIRMED SIGNIFICANT STRAIGHT LINE 
WIND DAMAGE...WITH WIDESPREAD MACROBURST WINDS...AND EMBEDDED... 
HIGHLY DAMAGING MICROBURST WINDS IN GORDON COUNTY. THESE WINDS MAY 
HAVE REACHED 100 MPH. IN ADDITION...SMALL...CONVERGENT...AND COMPACT 
F0/F1 DAMAGE WAS NOTED IN PARTS OF GORDON COUNTY.

NO DEATH OR INJURIES WERE REPORTED.

THE WORST DAMAGE WAS IN A PATH FROM SUGAR VALLEY TO CALHOUN 
INCLUDING HIGHWAYS 136C...156...AND 53 THROUGH CALHOUN. MUCH OF THE 
DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY STRAIGHT LINE WINDS ESTIMATED TO NEAR 100 MPH 
IN PLACES IN GORDON COUNTY. SMALL...TIGHT...F0/F1 AREAS OF 
CONVERGENT TORNADO DAMAGE OCCURRED JUST EAST OF DOWNTOWN...SOUTH OF 
HIGHWAY 156. IN ADDITION...ANOTHER TIGHT AREA OF DAMAGE...CONVERGENT 
IN NATURE...WAS NOTED JUST SOUTHWEST OF CALHOUN NEAR HIGHWAY 53. 
THESE HIGHLY CONVERGENT AREAS WERE ABOUT ONE QUARTER OF A MILE WIDE 
AND LESS THAN 1 MILE LONG WHILE THE OVERALL DAMAGE PATH WAS 3 TO 6 
MILES WIDE AND TRAVELED FROM THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE COUNTY TO 
SOUTHEAST.

IT APPEARS THAT A TOOL AND DIE BUILDING TO THE SOUTHWEST OF CALHOUN 
HAS SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE DUE TO A MICROBURST...OR A HIGHLY DAMAGING 
THUNDERSTORM DOWNDRAFT OF WIND...WHERE WINDS MAY HAVE REACHED 100 
MPH. A NEW STEEL CONSTRUCTION BUILDING WAS SEVERELY DAMAGED IN 
CALHOUN ALSO.  

EARLIER FINDINGS INDICATED THAT WIDESPREAD STRAIGHT LINE WIND 
DAMAGE OCCURRED WITH NUMEROUS TREES AND POWER-LINES DOWN. DAMAGE TO 
STRUCTURES IN MANY CASES WAS DUE TO TREES FALLING ON THEM. WINDS 
WERE ESTIMATED TO BE IN EXCESS OF 80 MPH IN SOME CASES AND POSSIBLY 
AS HIGH AS 100 MPH. HOWEVER WIND MEASUREMENT EQUIPMENT AT A 
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA EXPERIMENT STATION AT REDBUD FARM NEAR CALHOUN 
MEASURED A MAXIMUM WIND OF ONLY 31 MPH. THE STORMS MOVED THROUGH 
GORDON COUNTY BETWEEN 4 AM AND 430 AM.

IN OTHER AREAS SURVEYED...STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE WAS NOTED IN 
NORTHERN BARTOW COUNTY...BUT NO TORNADO DAMAGE WAS NOTED. 

PLEASE REFER TO OUR LOCAL STORM REPORT FOR ADDITIONAL REPORTS OF 
TREE AND POWERLINE DAMAGE FROM THE STORMS EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

NOEL...MAYES...SILVA