Episode narrative: A line of strong thunderstorms moved into north and central Georgia during the afternoon through the evening on Thursday, January 12th and spawned numerous tornadoes, including several that were long track and significant. Ahead of this line, a few supercells also spawned tornadoes in portions of central and eastern Georgia.  Upon further examination of radar data and high resolution areal imagery, it was found that several tornadoes rotated around and within a larger vortex and caused the widespread damage in the area near Griffin GA, over 2 miles wide in some cases.   The result was that as many as 4 tornadoes were on the ground simultaneously in SW Spalding County, which were rotating around the larger circulation, merging together in several cases and crossing paths. The presence of 3 mergers was identified in the reanalysis. Additional analysis revealed that wind speeds in the EF3 storm reached as high as 155mph or high end EF3.  This confirmed a total of 14 tornadoes, including 10 which resulted from the same storm/larger mesocyclone.

Tornado event in TROUP County, GEORGIA
Start: 12-JAN-23 15:34:00
End: 12-JAN-23 15:43:00
Direct deaths: 0
Event narrative: Re-cycling from a parent supercell tracking from Chambers County (Alabama) into Troup County (Georgia), this tornado touched down just south of Callaway Airport, snapping several trees along Pegasus Pkwy. Damage quickly picked up just to the northeast approaching Whitesville Road (just north of I-85) where several one-story metal buildings had significant roof damage, along with their garage doors and windows blown in. Numerous trees in this area were either snapped or uprooted. Several power poles along Orchard Hill Road were broken off near the top. Maximum winds in this area were determined to be in the 90-100 mph range (EF-1). As the tornado continued northeast, a large warehouse building at the Vaughan Xpress transportation facility sustained significant damage. About 1/4 of the large warehouse was completely destroyed with several metal bolt anchors stretched or ripped up out of the concrete pad. Winds were estimated between 110-120 mph at this time and as it crossed I-85, a large number of trees were snapped (some near the base) or uprooted. Widespread significant damage by this strong tornado continued across the Baldwin Park community. In this location, more than 30 homes had significant damage; one and two-story homes lost major parts of the roof and upper level floors along with at least partial-collapse of exterior walls. Debris was thrown for hundreds of yards. Winds in this area likely maxed out around 120 mph, making this an EF-2 tornado. The tornado continued east-northeast, cutting down trees across Upper Big Springs Road, I-185, and Stewart Road (east of I-185). There's a fairly rural/wooded area between Stewart Road and the next road (Parmer road) about 2 miles apart but damage picked back up along Hwy 109/Greenville Road (mostly trees snapped/uprooted). The tornado then ripped through the town of Mountville, snapping and uprooting multiple medium to large trees along Trippe and College streets. A couple more trees were uprooted along Wood Road as it moved into Meriwether County. Numerous trees were down near the intersection og Keith Rd and Evans road as the damage veered right. The tornado continued across a wood area, crossing Beech Creek, with more large branches found snapped on Wilbur Keith Rd near Fox Den Rd. The giant mesocyclone continued east where the tornado merged with the ongoing Meriwether/Northwest Pike tornado near Highway 100 and Forrest Rd.

Tornado event in SPALDING County, GEORGIA
Start: 12-JAN-23 16:13:00
End: 12-JAN-23 16:14:00
Direct deaths: 0
Event narrative: New high resolution areal imagery in concert with a reanalysis of radar data, areal surveys and ground surveys it has been determined that there were multiple tornadoes on the ground simultaneously in southwest Spalding and Northwestern Pike Counties as well as crossing tornado paths. The tornadoes were part of a larger mesocyclone which can be traced west all the way back to the Selma Alabama tornado. This particular tornado was spinning up in extreme SW Spalding County near Holonville Road and the Flint River as the EF2 tornado crossing Meriweather County into NW Pike was weaking and winding down. The particular tornado first showed a debris signature on radar in a marshy area near the flint River east of Holonville Road. Areal satellite imagery and newly acquired information from a homeowner along Huff Creek Road confirm the track continued east just north of Huff Creek Road snapping and uprooting hundreds of trees. The tornado Crossed Hancock Road as a high end EF 1 before reaching Blanton Mill Road where several outbuildings were destroyed, a home was damaged and hundreds of trees were uprooted or snapped. As the tornado continued east toward Nunnally Road it was noted that the tornado which would become the Griffin Tornado had crossed approximately 2 minutes prior and as this tornado approached that area. Damage in the Nunnally Road area is consistent with multiple circulations crossing this region. Also as this EF1 tornado reached the Nunnally/Bethany Road area, a strong surge in wind can be seen on radar rotating ENE around the larger mesocyclone and catching this tornado in this region. The particular tornado would be not only becoming part of that wind surge but also merge with an EF1 tornado sinking ESE out of Spalding County approximately at the Spalding/Pike county line in and around the Yarborough Mill Road region. This tornado would become the dominate circulation per radar analysis thus this track is continued ENE. As the EF1 tornado merges from the WNW, this tornado increases to max intensity of EF2 in and around the Yarborough Mill Road and Crystal Creek Drive area where several structures were severely damaged or destroyed in addition to hundreds of trees snapped and uprooted. Per damage analysis from imagery, this merging which occurred likely resulted in the increased intensification of the tornado to EF2 in this region. The tornado continued eastward toward a large rock quarry along Rover Zetella Road. The tornado snapped trees up to the Rock Quarry however, it appears that due to the size of the quarry, the tornado redeveloped on the N side of the quarry along Rover Zetalla Road and continued east before resuming a northward path. Numerous trees were snapped or uprooted wet of Candler Road north across North Rover Road,Agape Avenue and Bethel Lane. Numerous homes sustained everything from minor to moderate damage in this area consistent with EF0 to EF1 winds. This particular tornado continued north toward the stronger EF3 tornado occurring simultaneously ultimately absorbing this tornado into the circulation in the area around Maloy road. Due to the scope of the damage and the width, the exact location and the damage attribution (which tornado caused which damage) becomes difficult to discern even with the imagery. As a result, the exact width is an estimate due to the challenges of determining where one tornado damage swath ended and where another one started. The one thing that can be certain is that the vorticies/tornadoes did merge near or just after the EF3 damage occurred.

Tornado event in MERIWETHER County, GEORGIA
Start: 12-JAN-23 15:43:00
End: 12-JAN-23 15:47:00
Direct deaths: 0
Event narrative: Re-cycling from a parent supercell tracking from Chambers County (Alabama) into Troup County (Georgia), this tornado touched down just south of Callaway Airport, snapping several trees along Pegasus Pkwy. Damage quickly picked up just to the northeast approaching Whitesville Road (just north of I-85) where several one-story metal buildings had significant roof damage, along with their garage doors and windows blown in. Numerous trees in this area were either snapped or uprooted. Several power poles along Orchard Hill Road were broken off near the top. Maximum winds in this area were determined to be in the 90-100 mph range (EF-1). As the tornado continued northeast, a large warehouse building at the Vaughan Xpress transportation facility sustained significant damage. About 1/4 of the large warehouse was completely destroyed with several metal bolt anchors stretched or ripped up out of the concrete pad. Winds were estimated between 110-120 mph at this time and as it crossed I-85, a large number of trees were snapped (some near the base) or uprooted. Widespread significant damage by this strong tornado continued across the Baldwin Park community. In this location, more than 30 homes had significant damage; one and two-story homes lost major parts of the roof and upper level floors along with at least partial-collapse of exterior walls. Debris was thrown for hundreds of yards. Winds in this area likely maxed out around 120 mph, making this an EF-2 tornado. The tornado continued east-northeast, cutting down trees across Upper Big Springs Road, I-185, and Stewart Road (east of I-185). There's a fairly rural/wooded area between Stewart Road and the next road (Parmer road) about 2 miles apart but damage picked back up along Hwy 109/Greenville Road (mostly trees snapped/uprooted). The tornado then ripped through the town of Mountville, snapping and uprooting multiple medium to large trees along Trippe and College streets. A couple more trees were uprooted along Wood Road as it moved into Meriwether County. Numerous trees were down near the intersection of Keith Rd and Evans road as the damage veered right. The tornado continued across a wood area, crossing Beech Creek, with more large branches found snapped on Wilbur Keith Rd near Fox Den Rd. The giant mesocyclone continued east where the tornado merged with the ongoing Meriwether/Northwest Pike tornado near Highway 100 and Forrest Rd.

Tornado event in MERIWETHER County, GEORGIA
Start: 12-JAN-23 15:45:00
End: 12-JAN-23 16:16:00
Direct deaths: 0
Event narrative: Just west of the Troup-Meriwether County line, another long-track and powerful tornado formed just east of the county line near Keith Rd 0.9 miles north of GA109. The tornado initially traveled north then turned to a east-northeast direction crossing Wilbur Keith Rd and Piney Woods Rd downing hundreds of trees. The tornado broadened and intensified as it approached GA100 with a diameter of 0.9 miles and winds over 100 mph uprooting and snapping over 1000 trees. A home on Forrest Rd had its entire roof blown off where max winds were estimated at 120 mph and first reached EF-2 intensity. The tornado continued at 100 to 120 mph intensity as it continued east-northeast into neighborhoods south of Allie Rd along Mount Pilgram Rd where several homes were damaged or destroyed by trees falling on them. One double-wide manufactured home on Ground Hog Dr had its roof blown off and was shifted 20 yards off its foundation, breaking the home in half. The tornado continued east-northeast along Allie Rd crossing US27. Just east of US27 a very large stand of trees were snapped and a large recently-constructed two-story barn was destroyed. Just east of this location, two single-wide mobile home completely destroyed. The residents of one of the homes was at the hospital when the tornado struck and returned home early next morning to find it in shambles. Here, maximum winds were also rated at EF-2 intensity. The tornado began to weaken east of this point and it tracked a bit more northeast in direction, crossing Rocky Mountain Rd and Malcom Rd before it traveled along Callaway Rd downing several hundred more trees as it moved near the Alps community. While the tornado remained weak east of this area, the overall storm remained extremely strong and the tornado did not dissipate, continuing east paralleling HWY 362 causing sporadic tree damage before crossing the Flint River into NW Pike County crossing River RD and lifting around the Kings Bridge Road. Here winds were only 75-80 mph downing several trees as far as could be seen from public roadways. More recent analysis of radar data and areal satellite imagery confirmed that this particular circulation continued east into Pike County while 2 other tornadoes were spinning up to the North and Northeast of this weakening circulation.

Tornado event in BUTTS County, GEORGIA
Start: 12-JAN-23 16:35:00
End: 12-JAN-23 16:51:00
Direct deaths: 1
Event narrative: Radar data, areal surveys and ground surveys confirm that a long track EF2 tornado occurred beginning a few miles east of Griffin GA through Butts, Newton and into Jasper counties. The tornado was part of a larger mesocyclone which can be traced west all the way back to the Selma Alabama tornado which spawned numerous tornadoes during its lifecycle. This particular tornado first touched down in an area around Crouch road and Wild Plum Road snapping and uprooting trees. The tornado struck a Rinai building causing damage to the roof, windows and outside walls. The tornado continued northeast snapping and uprooting trees quickly intensifying as it crossed hwy 19 becoming and EF2. Widespread tree damage was noted along S. McDonough Road and Walnut Grove Road north of Hwy 16. A well built home sustained significant roof and structure damage consistent with high end EF2 winds. The tornado continued northeast crossing High Falls Road, N. Walkers Mill Road, Yamacraw road snapping and uprooting trees consistent with EF1 damage. As the tornado continued northeast, it became the dominant circulation within the larger mesocyclone as the previous Griffin tornado began to occlude within the large circulation. The tornado crossed Jackson road and paralleled Jenkinsburg road before crossing I75 near Jenkinsburg Road. Snapped and uprooted trees were noted along both sides of I75 where the tornado crossed. As the storm became the dominant circulation within the mesocyclone, the wind field expanded and the damage became fairly consistent with high end EF1 to low EF2 thereafter. The tornado crossed Locust Road, Dean Patrick Road and England Chapel Road were numerous trees were snapped and uprooted. Some home damage was noted in the area as well, particularly as it approached Shiloah Road. Several homes were damaged along Plaza Dr and Smith Dr. The tornado continued NE crossing Hwy 23 striking a large warehouse. Severe roof and exterior wall damage was noted as debris was spread across the highway and to the NE of the hwy. As the tornado crossed the highway it struck a train on the tracks and overturned 3 rail cars just west Walter Moore Rd. The storm continued northeast crossing Wolf Creek Road snapping and uprooting trees near several homes consistent with EF1 wind damage. The tornado continued northeast crossing Rising Star Church road and Brown road snapping and uprooting trees. As the storm continued northeast beyond this point, the remnant circulation which last produced damage near Locust Grove regenerated a new tornado a little over a mile to the northwest along Fincherville Road. The two tornadoes would continue to the NE nearly parallel through the Jackson Lake area. This particular tornado continued northeast and would intensify to EF2 as it crossed Hwy 36 north of Keys Ferry Road and Haley Road. The fatality and critical injury directly associated with this tornado occurred along Haley Road when a tree fell onto a vehicle injuring the driver and fatally wounding a passenger. EF2 damage was noted East of hwy36 along Haley Road, Pocahontas St. Chickasaw lane and several neighborhoods along the lake. The tornado crossed into Southern Newton County causing severe damage along Parker Road, Ray Road, Malcom Rd, Quarry Ct, Pebble Ridge Dr, Hunters Trace, Campbell Rd and Hwy 212 as it entered Jasper County near the Franks Restaurant. EF1 to low end EF2 damage was intermittent along Yancy Rd, Dallas Tr, Gem Lane, Leeï¿½ï¿½ï¿½s Cove, Alcovy N. Dr, Rainbow Dr and County Line Road. The Bear Creek Marian was destroyed and several campers were destroyed. The storm continued NE crossing Henderson Mill Road snapping and uprooting trees, County line Trail and Hwy 11 before weakening and lifting as it approached Margery Lake. A second fatality was resulted the following day when a lineman was knocked out of a bucket truck in Jasper County after being struck by a large tree branch while attempting to restore powerlines. The fatality, is considered indirect but will be tied to this particular tornado. Widespread wind damage can be seen via areal survey and ground survey throughout northern Butts, Southern Newton and Western Jasper counties and surveying this particular storm was a challenge to discern where the tornado actually ended and where the severe wind damage started. The path width is an approximation based on the most severe damage swaths which were surveyed however, strong inflow winds occurred for much of the lifecycle of this tornado making a very wide swath of damage along its 30+ mile long path.