Wednesday was the first time we saw 90 degrees in Atlanta this month.

Naturally the sky exploded.

The warm temperatures sparked power thunderstorms that knocked out power, downed several trees and caused some flooding.

“Right now, these things are very, very ripe," Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said as the temperatures started to rise Wednesday afternoon.

Chandley said temperatures hit 90 degrees for the first time in July. It is the latest date to hit that temperature since 1975.

We could see a very similar weather pattern Thursday. Chandley says highs will get near 90 again with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.

“The storms will pop late in the day, but they will be few and far between,” says Chandley.

That’s Georgia’s stock summertime forecast and Chandley says it will last through the weekend.

Those that get with one of those afternoon storms Wednesday will have a story to tell at work Thursday.

Some of the storms brought hail and intense lightening.

The lightening caused a couple of houses to catch fire in Cherokee County.

A home on Land Road burned to the ground after a bolt hit a tree about 50 feet away. The electricity ran underground along the gas line and back into the home. The owners arrived to see their house engulfed in flames. No one was hurt, but some of the family's pets are dead.

In Union City, Barbara Alford was at choir practice with lightning set her home on fire.

"The lord is in control," she told Channel 2 Action News.  

Firefighters were still trying to put out hot spots two hours after the strike

"I'll get a new house, new furniture," Alford said. A neighbor is giving the 78-year-old a place to stay for now.

A Douglas County deputy also reported a tree blocking Highway 166 near Highway 92.

A Georgia Power spokesman said nearly 7,500 homes and businesses had scattered power outages across metro Atlanta.

"Where we had rainfall today, watch out for patchy fog on Thursday morning. It could be kind of thick," Chandley said.