COVINGTON, Ga. — The New Year's Eve tornado in west Newton damaged a school and tossed cars like toys but left small gaps untouched on its seven-minute tear through the county.

The EF-1 twister caused six minor injuries and moved at a peak speed of about 90 mph on a 2.5-mile, 75-yard-wide path roughly parallel with Brown Bridge Road late Friday afternoon. It damaged 12 homes, Veterans Memorial Middle School, Publix and a Chick-fil-A, where it tossed two cars 100 feet and flipped them in its parking lot, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service (NWS) Saturday, Jan. 1. 

The report stated the twister developed from an isolated supercell thunderstorm, which the NWS describes as a storm cloud with an extended upper part that has "a high propensity to produce severe weather" and is the least common type of thunderstorm.

A tornado "quickly developed from that thunderstorm" and first touched down about 5:39 p.m. along Creekside Lane just east of Brown Bridge Road. A few trees were snapped, the report stated.

"Both video evidence and ground surveys suggest the tornado was sporadic in its contact with the ground as evident by small gaps in damage, particularly in the beginning of the track."

The tornado continued in an east-northeast path along Brown Bridge Road, snapping more trees and blowing down a fence along Glynshire Court and Roberts Road, the report stated.  

"The tornado reached peak intensity of 90 mph as it hit Veterans (Memorial) Middle School, removing significant amounts of siding and roofing from the gymnasium and sections of roof."  

It then crossed Slades Mill Court, uprooted trees and caused minor damage to two homes before entering the intersection of Brown Bridge and Salem roads.  

"Several trees were uprooted in a Publix parking lot and minor damage occurred to the roof at Publix," the NWS report stated. 

"The tornado then crossed through a Chick-fil-A parking lot where two cars were tossed 100 feet and flipped, and the glass door to the restaurant was shattered."

It then continued east where it damaged roofs of 10 homes along Tulip Poplar Way and Mary Jane Lane before the tornado lifted back up near Shiver Boulevard around 5:46 p.m.

The twister was an EF-1 tornado because it had winds between 86 and 110 mph, which is comparatively weak based on the Enhanced Fujita scale the NWS uses to classify tornadoes. The scale ranges from EF-0 (65 to 85 mph) to EF-5 (more than 200 mph).

The weather service's report added that it was "subject to change pending final review of the events and publication in NWS storm data."

In a related issue, the tornado damaged the traffic signal light on Brown Bridge Road at Walmart and it will not be operational until a new signal can be installed, according to information from the county government. 

"Please use caution in this area," it advised.