1998 — March 20, Tornado, Hall (Gainesville Area) and White Counties, GA — 12

— 12  Grazulis. US Killer Tornadoes of 1998. Tornado Project Online.

— 12  NCDC. Storm Events Database. Tornado. Search Results for All Counties in Georgia.

–10  NCDC. Event Record Detail, Tornado, Georgia, 20 March 1998, Murrayville.

  1. Male, 1, mobile home.
  2. Male, 6, mobile home.
  3. Male, 30, mobile home.
  4. Male, 35, mobile home.
  5. Male, 51, mobile home.
  6. Male, 52, mobile home.
  7. Male, 74, mobile home.
  8. Female, 12, mobile home.
  9. Female, 32, mobile home.
  10. Male, 50, vehicle/towed trailer.

—  2  NCDC. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, GA, White County, March 20, 1998.

  1. Female, 4, mobile home.
  2. Male, 31, mobile home.

 

Narrative Information

 

Grazulis: “An unexpected morning tornado cut a 10-mile-long, half-mile-wide path, killing 12 people and injuring 103 more in the Gainesville area of Hall County, Georgia. White County was suffered the brunt of the storm. Seven of the deaths occurred in the 45 mobile homes that were destroyed or damaged. About a third of the Lanier Elementary School was destroyed and North Hall High School was partly unroofed. The children had not yet arrived for school. An hour or so later, there would have been hundreds of students in the buildings. One of the deaths occurred directly next to the elementary school, as a man delivering food there was killed when his truck was lifted and dropped onto the school caretaker’s trailer home. A 76-year-old man, his daughter and a grandson were killed in a trailer on the North Hall High School campus. Of the dead, 4 were children. Forty-one homes were “100%” destroyed, and 132 houses were damaged. Some of the damaged homes cannot be lived in. All deaths except the aforementioned vehicular death occurred in mobile homes. Two of the deaths in a mobile home occurred when the home was blown into a pond.”  (Grazulis. Tornado Project Online. US Killer Tornadoes of 1998.)

 

NCDC: “The tornado began in northwest Hall county and moved into southern White county. Total distance covered was about 13 miles. Aerial and ground surveys by NWS employees showed extensive damage along the path. There was significant damage to Lanier Elementary School and North Hall High School. Houses, trailers, businesses, and agricultural interests (namely the poultry industry) were demolished or damaged. Large areas of forest were flattened. A tractor-trailer truck was thrown 100 feet from the road into a school, killing the driver. All of the other 11 persons killed were in mobile homes. The damage path varied from 50 to 200 yards, but averaged around 100 yards wide.” (NCDC/NOAA. Event Record Detail, Tornado, Georgia, 20 Mar 1998, Murrayville.)

Sources

 

Grazulis, Thomas P. US Killer Tornadoes of 1998. Tornado Project Online. Accessed 1-4-2009 at: http://www.tornadoproject.com/

 

National Climatic Data Center. Event Record Detail, Tornado, Georgia, 20 Mar 1998, Murrayville. NCDC, NOAA, Department of Commerce.  Accessed 2-4-2009 at:  http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwevent~ShowEvent~315501

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado. Search Results for All Counties in Georgia, 03/20/1998. Accessed 1-14-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=%28C%29+Tornado&beginDate_mm=03&beginDate_dd=20&beginDate_yyyy=1998&endDate_mm=03&endDate_dd=20&endDate_yyyy=1998&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=13%2CGEORGIA

 

National Climatic Data Center, NOAA. Storm Events Database. Tornado, F3, GA, White County, March 20, 1998. Accessed 1-14-2016 at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=5633551