OUR PLACE · EVIDENCE & EVERYDAY QUESTIONS
The tornado that crossed Bremen in 1999
A short National Weather Service survey preserves a specific local story—and leaves questions open.
What the survey actually records
The NWS damage survey by Matt Sena and Terry Murphy identifies a tornado on May 7, 1999, rated F2. It places the start 6.5 miles southwest of downtown Bremen and the end 3.5 miles northeast, affecting Carroll and Haralson counties. The reported width was 150 yards. We retain the historical F2 label as written. [1]
The survey describes at least two dozen homes damaged, mostly by falling trees, along with at least four businesses, a golf course, barns and outbuildings. It records hundreds of snapped or uprooted trees and extensive power and telephone line damage. [1]
A careful account of what is unknown
The survey says there were apparently no deaths and that the injury count was unknown. “Unknown” is not the same as zero. Its photograph headings refer to a subdivision south of downtown and Cashtown Road northeast of Bremen. They do not identify every damaged parcel. [1]
| Recorded detail | NWS description |
|---|---|
| Start | 6.5 miles southwest of downtown Bremen |
| End | 3.5 miles northeast of Bremen |
| Counties | Carroll and Haralson |
| Width | 150 yards |
How to read the path
The southwest and northeast locations describe the recorded endpoints. They do not establish an exact modern parcel boundary or mean every building between them was damaged. A faithful neighborhood map would require the original track image, a usable base map and checks against contemporary local accounts. We have not drawn a precise street-level track from those two descriptions.
A family photograph can help anchor the story. Useful details include the road name used in 1999, the date, the direction the camera faced and whether a caption was written at the time or recalled later. Preserve the original wording, even where a later recollection differs.
Help complete the local record
The next evidence to seek is the local newspaper issue immediately following May 7, county emergency-management records, repair photographs and dated utility-restoration notices. Those could explain the sequence of recovery without guessing from damage totals.
If your family remembers this storm, we welcome a specific memory and permission to share it. Recollections will be labeled as recollections and checked where possible. Please leave private addresses and children’s identifying details out of a public submission. This is a historical account, not a forecast or a measure of today’s tornado probability.
Sources and limits
Sources reviewed October 13, 2026. This first edition uses published records; it is not a new field inspection. Bracketed numbers link claims to the sources below. Substantive corrections will be dated here.