P1.4
The downtown Atlanta, Georgia, EF-2 tornado of 14 March 2008
Steven E. Nelson, NOAA/NWS, Peachtree City, GA; and L. Rothfusz
On Friday, 14 March 2008, an EF-2 tornado struck Atlanta, Georgia at 9:38 pm EDT. While the total path length of 10 km and average path width of 90 m resulted in a relatively small area affected, the impact was severe. The portion of Atlanta affected was the most densely populated areas of downtown. While the business and commercial areas were mostly unoccupied at the time of the tornado, several large hotels were at capacity and sustained substantial damage. Two large sporting venues were also in progress at the time of the tornado. A large convention center, a major commuter rail station, condominiums, a hospital, and a university were also damaged. Several large events planned for the upcoming weekend were cancelled. This presentation will focus on the sociological, preparedness, and large event venue aspects of the Atlanta tornado event as well as the challenging nature of the forecast and warning decision processes.
Poster Session 1, Modeling, Forecasting, and Impacts of Urban High Impact Weather
Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 2:30 PM-4:00 PM, Room 126B
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Extended Abstract (664K)