Public Information Statement
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
Issued by NWS Atlanta, GA
937 NOUS42 KFFC 102153 PNSFFC GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-111000- Public Information Statement National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 553 PM EDT Tue Jun 10 2025 ...NWS Damage Survey for June 7, 2025 Significant Straight Line Wind Event... .Overview...A very strong thunderstorm complex and associated line of thunderstorms moved across northern GA during the afternoon and early evening hours Saturday June 7, 2025. A very strong rear inflow jet developed, visible on the HTX radar, and resulted in a long lived bowing line which traversed a 50+ mile long path from Pickens to Banks County. The end result was a straight line wind event causing tree damage along that 50+ mile path including embedded areas of more significant tree damage where microbursts were occurring. While other damage was noted across many portions of northern GA from storms Saturday Afternoon, this writeup focuses on the surveyed areas associated with one particular portion of the line of storms. ..Northeast Cherokee/Pickens/Dawson/Hall and Banks Counties... Rating: TSTM/Wind Estimated Peak Wind: 95 mph Path Length /statute/: 50.94 miles Path Width /maximum/: 2640 yards Fatalities: 1 Injuries: 0 Start Date: 06/07/2025 Start Time: 05:34 PM EDT Start Location: 5 WSW Tate / Pickens County / GA Start Lat/Lon: 34.3961 / -84.463 End Date: 06/07/2025 End Time: 06:22 PM EDT End Location: 4 E Lula / Banks County / GA End Lat/Lon: 34.3851 / -83.5848 Survey Summary: A significant straight line wind event unfolded during the afternoon hours of Saturday June 7, 2025. A strong line of thunderstorms moved into Northwestern GA out of Alabama with a history of wind damage which continued across the northern portion of GA. As the line moved eastward into Pickens and Cherokee counties, the Hytop radar confirmed the presence of a developing strong rear inflow jet shortly followed by consistent damage on the ground as the line crossed Hwy 515 just west of Nelson GA in Pickens County at approximately 5:34 PM EDT. The rear inflow surged a segment of the line forward as a bowing line segment, i.e. bow echo, which are very common within storm complexes like this one. Trees were downed, some on homes in the Nelson GA area eastward in southern Pickens county and extreme Northeastern Cherokee County. Roads surveyed included Cherokee Trail, Cherokee Forest Park Dr, Fortner Road, Yellow Creek Road, Lawson Federal Road, Eagles Nest Trail, Eagle Ridge, Beaver Run, and Bear Ct in southern Pickens County. It should be noted that the area of damage extended from north to south upwards of 1 to 1.5 miles in places which included swaths of greater wind damage where likely new microbursts occurred. One such swath was noted along Cherokee Ridgewood Pl and Cherokee Forest Park Dr. where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted within a small area. Another swath was noted in the Bear Trail/Eagles Nest Trl through Beaver Run/Bear Ct region with numerous trees snapped and uprooted within a small area. Outside of the more significant damage swaths, more scattered tree damage was noted across the 1 to 1.5 mile wide region from hwy 515 eastward along a 50 mile long path. Emergency management from both Cherokee and Dawson counties owned Davis weather stations which happened to be located within the path of this storm. The Cherokee County station was located on top of Fire station 15 which recorded a wind gust of 89.1 mph before the pole broke. The Dawson County station was located at the Crystal Falls Lake Golf Course and recorded a wind gust of 89.5 mph. Damage in the vicinity of these wind measurements were consistent with wind speeds of this magnitude which would equate to a low end EF1 tornado. As the line surged into Dawson County, trees and powerlines were downed from the western edge of the county ESE to the Lake Lanier portion of the county. Numerous trees were downed along Roscoe Collette Road, Cowart and Kelly Bridge Roads, and scattered along Hwy 318 from west of Hwy 19 to the region near Lake Lanier all along War Hill Park Road. A more detailed survey of the War Hill Park road area confirms the storm exhibited similar pattern to what occurred in Pickens county with swaths of heavier tree damage within a broader area of wind damage in an area as much as 1.5 miles wide. One particular strong swath of damage was noted along Indian Cove Drive ENE across Longview Drive where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted including 2 onto homes. Maximum winds within these swaths are estimated to be as high as 95 mph given the extent of the tree damage in the localized area. Another swath was noted to have occurred from War Hill Park Road northeast into the Athens Boat Club subdivision where numerous trees were snapped and uprooted along a ENE trajectory. An additional area of significant tree damage was noted along Sams Road, Pirkle Leake Road and Holly Hill Road. The ground survey did not extend beyond Dawson county, however, the strong storm continued east into Hall County downing trees along its path. Hall County EMA confirms damage along a line eastward from Southeastern Dawson County and additional reports/photos from Looper Lake road and Club drive confirm strong straight line winds in excess of 80 mph continued to occur across Hall county along a line which included Westview, Scoutland, Chattahoochee Landing, Sagamore, Shamrock Heights communities eastward toward Banks County. Radar estimates confirm that the location of the fatality as a result of a tree falling onto a vehicle near Antioch Road and County Road 51 occurred as this area of straight line winds continued surging eastward across the northern portion of Banks County. While assessments are still ongoing, Pickens County reported 38 homes damaged including 4 with major damage, 6 vehicles destroyed, and 2 RV`s destroyed. Dawson County reported 10 trees on homes resulting in moderate to major damage and hundreds of trees down county wide. Banks County reported 55 calls of trees in the roadway, 26 calls of trees on powerlines, 1 tree on a home, as well as the fatality from a falling tree. It should be noted that portions of this same area still showed scars, i.e. significant tree damage, of the very strong straight line wind event which occurred in June of 2023. && EF Scale: The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories: EF0.....65 to 85 mph EF1.....86 to 110 mph EF2.....111 to 135 mph EF3.....136 to 165 mph EF4.....166 to 200 mph EF5.....>200 mph NOTE: The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS Storm Data. $$