National Weather Service shares how they determine if tornado touches down
A National Weather Service team was in Ellijay on Friday to survey storm damage to determine the strength of the tornado that touched down there Wednesday night.
Preliminary results show it was an EF-1 tornado with wind speed of 90 to 100 mph, according to David Nadler and Lindsay Marlow with the NWS.
“We’re basically looking for the highest degree of damage through this entire swatch,” Marlow explained to Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco.
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She and Nadler were walking around the damage at Ellington Road and Old Highway 5 to make their calculations.
“Some of this, like this storage area, was completely wiped out, but there was a chunk of it that was barely even touched,” said Nadler. “So, we’re taking all that into consideration.”
Plus, they consider the construction of the building.
“We’re checking and seeing how the walls were anchored to the floor, and that helps to influence what rating we end up getting,” said Marlow.
Gilmer County’s Emergency Management and Public Works Directors were leading the pair through the aftermath Friday afternoon.
“Please, be patient with us as we try to clear those roads and make everything safe again,” said Emergency Management Director Keith Kucera.
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The storm did not just cause property damage. NewsDrone 2 flew above washed-out roads and rushing waters Friday. Flooding caused landslides and sinkholes in the mountain town and closed 20 to 30 roads initially.
That number was going down Friday because the ground was dry enough for crews to start repairs.
“We’ve got people trapped on other sides of roads where the culverts have been washed out, and those are the ones that we’re getting to first,” said Public Works Director Ryan Steingruber.
Marlow and Nadler with the National Weather Service expect to confirm the tornado’s path and how long it was on the ground by Saturday morning.
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