10 tornadoes confirmed in Ga., including fatal one in midstate

Liz Fabian - lfabian@macon.com

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The National Weather Service confirmed 10 tornadoes touched down Wednesday including one that killed a Hancock County man.

Severe storms that raked across the state unleashed twisters across 13 counties ranging in strength from EF-0 at Robins Air Force Base to an EF-4 with winds of up to 166 miles per hour in Wilkes County, according to The National Weather Service's preliminary tornado reports.

Story: Man killed as tornadoes hit parts of Middle Georgia
Story: Robins Air Force Base dodges damage from twister
Some tornadoes that have struck the midstate
The deadliest tornado ever in Georgia hit Gainesville on April 6, 1936, killing 203 people. Here�s a quick look at some tornadoes that have hit Middle Georgia over the years:

May 11, 2008: Ten tornadoes touched down in parts of the midstate early in the morning. A Laurens County couple was killed in one storm. The strongest tornado, with winds of more than 136 mph, touched down about three miles southeast of Soperton. The most devastating tornado hit Bibb County at 5:50 a.m., with wind speeds between 111 and 135 mph. It took an 18-mile path, hitting neighborhoods in south Macon and around Lake Tobesofkee especially hard. Bibb County�s tree canopy, particularly that on the Macon State College campus, was wrecked. All told, 97 homes were destroyed, and insurance companies paid out about $125 million for damages.
March 1, 2007: Seven tornadoes struck the midstate as part of a deadly storm system that killed nine people in Georgia and 10 in Alabama. A total of 10 twisters struck the state.
In Taylor County, one man was killed when his mobile home was destroyed. More than a dozen homes sustained damage, and four mobile homes were destroyed. In Crawford County, 64 houses on Sandy Point and Hamlin roads were damaged. Of those, 14 were destroyed. Homes and businesses in Bibb and Jones counties also were damaged. The National Weather Service estimated that some of the tornadoes that swept through Georgia packed wind gusts of up to 165 mph.
November 1992: Four people were killed in Putnam County when a tornado tore through Monroe, Jones and Putnam counties. It left a 25-mile path of destruction, wrecking at least 68 homes in Putnam.
November 1989: A twister destroyed seven homes in Pineview, in Wilcox County, and killed a 2-year-old boy. At least seven people were injured.
Feb. 18, 1975: A tornado hit Fort Valley about 4:10 p.m. One person was killed, and at least 51 people were injured. Homes and downtown businesses were destroyed. It caused about $7.5 million in damage.
April 30, 1953: A tornado carrying 100-mph winds cut through the heart of Warner Robins and Robins Air Force Base, killing 18 people, injuring 350 others and leaving more than 1,000 people homeless. The twister did more than $10 million worth of damage, leveling dozens of houses. It tore through the city in about 12 minutes, tearing a swath about 1,000 feet wide. It is the fourth deadliest tornado in state history.

The first EF-0 twister was reported in Taylor County on Tommy Purvis Jr. Road at about 5:45 p.m. One home was damaged, a mobile home was shifted off its foundation and trees crashed down in the tornado which touched down intermittently over three to four miles with a 100 feet wide path and winds of 70 m.p.h.

At 6:25 p.m., a civilian worker at Robins Air Force Base was hit by debris as a base weather observer sited the twister off one of the runways. The minimal tornado had winds of 70 miles per hour and tracked just 50 feet into the woods and did not do any damage.

Shortly before 7 p.m. an EF-1 tornado hit U.S. 441 in Oconee County near Tappin Spur Road. The twister's 90 mile per hour winds downed numerous trees and closed the highway. Traveling over five miles with a width of 300 yards the tornado damaged roofs of several homes, moved a mobile home off its foundation and brought down hundreds of trees at the Georgia Nature Center. Two tent areas were destroyed and solar panels were damaged at the center.

The state's most powerful tornado touched down at 7:10 p.m. in Wilkes County and tracked 16 miles with a half-mile path of destruction. The twister is blamed for demolishing a cinder block home and blowing debris a half-mile away. A commercial chicken house was destroyed, a 2-ton truck was moved 60 feet, 19 outbuildings were destroyed and 15 houses sustained moderate to major damage.

At about 7:15, Robert Parham had a few customers in his Westside Drive nightclub on Glenwood Spring Road when an EF-1 tornado touched down with 110 mile per hour winds. Parham jumped under the bar while the patrons sought shelter under pool tables as the cinder blocks tore apart and the roof went flying away. The Putnam County Sheriff's Office reported rescuing two people from Parham's house next door to the club. One woman was injured by flying debris, said Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills. The tornado traveled five miles and destroyed the Headhunter Motor Club drag strip off U.S. 441. The twister, which had a three-quarter of a mile wide path, also toppled large power transmission lines near the Wal-mart on Gray Highway.

By 7:20 p.m. the first of two EF-1 tornadoes hit Jasper County and traveled three miles leaving a quarter mile wide path. The winds of 100 miles per hour damaged several buildings along Ga. 18 beginning in the Smithboro Community where one home was destroyed along with a small mill warehouse. Trees and power lines were also down. At 8 p.m. another EF-1 tornado touched down nine miles northwest of Shady Dale near Shepard Road. It continued seven miles with a quarter-mile wide track that downed more than 100 trees and did major damage to a small cottage in the northeast part of Jasper County and damaged five homes.

An EF-1 tornado hit Newton County's King Bostwick Road and tracked two miles with a 200-yard wide path. Twenty to 30 homes sustained extensive damage in a heavily wooded subdivision where trees crashed down on nearly every house in the 100 mile per hour winds.

At 8:30 p.m. an EF-2 tornado packing winds of 120 miles per hour touched down just inside the Meriwether County line and tracked into Coweta and Spalding counties. Four homes were destroyed and 40 were damaged over 20 miles. A horse was killed by flying debris near U.S. 27A.

In Hancock County, David Hill had fallen asleep watching the storm report on television when an EF-3 tornado hit with winds of 140 miles per hour at about 10:40 p.m. That tornado tracked a total of eight miles and left a path of destruction about 500 yards wide. Johnny Frank Baker, 60, was killed when his mobile home was shredded in the twister that destroyed the Hickory Grove Missionary Baptist Church across the street from his mobile home. His daughter, Lakesia Baker, and her two children were hurt as the storm blew them across the street where deputies found them in the rubble. Three other mobile homes were destroyed in the community. Hill's log cabin was shifted up to 20 feet and his neighbor's home under construction was destroyed. The American Red Cross was on the scene Thursday in the Hickory Grove community and pledged to offer assistance and counseling for storm victims.