A destructive and deadly tornado outbreak affected the Southeastern United States on March 14–15, 2008. The most infamous tornado of the outbreak occurred on March 14 when an isolated EF2 tornado caused widespread damage across Downtown Atlanta, Georgia, including to the CNN Center and to the Georgia Dome, which was hosting the 2008 SEC men's basketball tournament. Other buildings that were damaged include the Georgia World Congress Center, and the Omni Hotel, which was evacuated after many windows were blown out. The Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel suffered major window damage. The image of the building with all its windows blown out became famous and for a time was a symbol of the tornado. Centennial Olympic Park, SunTrust Plaza (now Truist Plaza) and historic Oakland Cemetery were also damaged.

One man was killed near Downtown Atlanta and 30 others were injured. Two other deaths took place on March 15, in the northern Atlanta suburbs, from a second, larger round of severe weather and tornadoes. In total, 46 tornadoes were confirmed over the 24-hour period, from eastern Alabama to the Carolina coast, with most of the activity concentrated in the Metropolitan Atlanta area, the Central Savannah River Area and the Midlands of South Carolina.

Meteorological synopsis

Atlanta tornado event

In their 9:00 pm EDT outlook, the Storm Prediction Center issued a slight risk of severe weather across portions of the southern United States from Oklahoma to Georgia, with a 2% risk for tornadoes for the Atlanta area. A tornado warning was issued for Atlanta at 9:26 pm when the supercell that caused the tornado was northwest of downtown, although no watches were in effect for the area due to the low probability. The tornado moved to the southeast, which is unusual as most supercells have a strong northward component along (or ahead of) a cold front. It also was unusual because it was not associated with such a squall line at all, but was an independent supercell well ahead of the main storm system.

March 15 tornado event

Another tornado outbreak struck the southeast the following day. A moderate risk for severe storms was issued in the morning, and maintained through the afternoon. However, by mid afternoon, areas of east-central Georgia and central South Carolina were upgraded to a high risk of severe storms due to the tornado threat. On March 11, forecasters noted potential of severe weather. The Global Forecast System (GFS) weather model predicted severe weather for the 15th of March. Confidence wasn't high because the amount of CAPE and Wind shear was uncertain. Models had conflicting information. The GFS and the NAM had different locations of surface lows & convection. The NAM had a surface low pressure in North Carolina.

By the morning of the 15th, favorable ingredients appeared, which made severe weather likely. Instability values were over 1000 J/kg. The highest values were up to 2000 J/kg. Mid level lapse rates were above 7 °C/km. A low & upper level jet were both present in South Carolina. At this time, 60 knot (69 mph) winds were observed at 850 hPa and 86 knots (98 mph) at 500 hPa. From the surface to 850 hPa, extremely moist layer was observed. The layer was capped by a temperature inversion. The surface had a temperature of around 70°f (21°c) while dew points remained around 65°f (18°c). Helicity values were up to 600 m2/s2. A boundary started to draw dew points northward. Eventually, the inversion cooled which allowed for instability to release. This allowed for storms to fire. A warm front became the primary forcing mechanism for storms. Favorable instability, up to 404 J/kg in the hail growth zone. 10-30 °C temperatures in the hail growth zone along with instability allowed for quarter sized hail, but some areas had >2 inch sized hail.

A linear line of thunderstorms had reached North Carolina and South Carolina. By 4:15 PM EDT, the storms had made it into South Carolina. The Storm Prediction Center issued a PDS tornado watch extending from Georgia to central North Carolina.

Confirmed tornadoes

March 14 event + List of confirmed tornadoes – Friday, March 14, 2008EF#LocationCounty / ParishStateStart Coord.Time (UTC)Path lengthMax widthDamageSummary EF2N of WarrenClevelandAR0842–0855An old, unoccupied house was destroyed. Several houses sustained roof and shingle damage, including two that had most of their roofs blown off. Several chicken houses were destroyed, and a number of barns and outbuildings were damaged. Hundreds of trees were downed; one destroyed a house trailer. EF2AtlantaFulton, DeKalbGA0138–01501 death – See article on this tornado – 30 people were injured.

March 15 event