ADAIRSVILLE —
Authorities believe a tornado swelled to 900 yards wide -- more than four times the width of the Georgia Dome -- as it tore across northwest Georgia for nearly 22 miles.
The Wednesday twister had an estimated peak wind speed of 160 mph when it slammed into Adairsville, about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta, National Weather Service officials said.
It was the most damaging of Wednesday’s tornadoes in northwest Georgia, which together caused an estimated $75 million in insured losses, Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens said.
“That figure will rise as new claims are reported,” Hudgens said in a statement.
Crews that toured the destruction Thursday rated the tornado, which destroyed more than 60 buildings in Bartow and Gordon counties, as a strong EF3 twister.
The heaviest damage was found at the Daiki Corp. manufacturing plant in Adairsville, where the 160 mph winds struck, the National Weather Service reported. That is just shy of an EF4 tornado, which has winds of 166 mph and above.
The tornado killed an Adairsville man and injured 17 people.
National Weather Service crews have been surveying other areas as well as they work to confirm how many tornadoes struck northwest Georgia.
State News
February 1, 2013
Ga. tornado 900 yards wide, 160 mph at its peak
- State News
-
-
Deen says she used slur but doesn’t tolerate hate
Celebrity cook Paula Deen said while being questioned in a discrimination lawsuit that she has used racial slurs in the past but insisted she and her family do not tolerate prejudice.
Continued ... - Ga. police dog found dead in handler’s car
- Indicted DeKalb CEO says he’s done nothing wrong
- Judge raises concerns about school cheating case
- Court rejects appeal of conviction in boy’s death
- Ruling on voter citizenship proof ensnares Georgia law
- Court: Arizona citizenship proof law illegal
- Boy, 9, hurt trying to save sister in carjacking
- Family of slain law grad want farm searched
- Jun 17, 2013
- Spectator shot to death at soccer game
- ‘Big Dawg’ carries on tradition in dad’s memory
- Court reinstates death sentence for bank robber
- 3 open Ga. congressional races dominated by GOP
- Jun 16, 2013
- Tour guides on Jekyll Island might need to take test
- School system absorbs $5 million in cuts
-
Deen says she used slur but doesn’t tolerate hate
James Gandolfini Dies at Age 51
Fmr. TWA Flight 800 Investigators Want New Probe
Raw: Heat, Spurs Back on Court Ahead of Game 7
Dolce and Gabbana Convicted of Tax Evasion
Paris, Prince Depositions Used in Jackson Trial
Coiffed Cattle Get Their Close-up
In Berlin, Obama Channels Cold War Activism
Police at Patriots Tight End's Home for 2nd Day
Fed Suggests Bond Purchases Could Slow
AP: DOJ Broke Own Rules Seizing Phone Records
Raw: Baby White Rhino Debuts at Australian Zoo
Time Lapse: Rebuilding Bridge Post-collapse
Ohio Woman Accuses 3 of Holding Her Captive
Hunt for Ex-Teamster Boss Hoffa's Remains Ends
