SANDERSVILLE, Ga. — National Weather Service officials have determined that an EF-1 tornado struck Washington County Wednesday morning, downing trees and damaging structures.
Kyle Thiem, a NWS meteorologist, says it hit the northern part of Sandersville, staying on the ground for nearly 4 miles with winds up to 100 mph.
The tornado was on the the ground along the Fall Line Freeway. It touched down at 8:50 a.m., lifting four minutes later.
75 employees were inside the Dura-Line plant in Sandersville when a storm ripped through the building, according to manager Russell Sims.
Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran reported two people were injured inside the plant, and a driver of an 18-wheeler near the plant was injured when his truck blew over.
Meteorologist Alex Forbes was on-air tracking the rotation just north of downtown Sandersville in a cut-in during CBS Mornings. The National Weather Service did not issue a Tornado Warning for the storm. Instead, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was in place with a "tornado possible" tag.