Heavy rain, high wind and fierce lightning left tens of thousands without power as severe storms tore across metro Atlanta Thursday evening.
Power is out all over. Georgia Power reports more than 100,000 were in the dark as of 2 a.m. About 58,000 of those are in metro Atlanta.
Many of those power lines were knocked down by straight-line winds between 70 and 80 mph, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz says.
Drivers heading into work this morning are being advised to watch out for any fallen tree limbs, especially in the dark.
Residents say they heard warning sirens, alerts on smart phones and one woman who was in her vehicle barely survived the wind and heavy rain.
“My van was shaking. It was scary,” she told WSB’s Jennifer Griffies.
It was an experience felt by many across metro Atlanta.
Cherokee County: The hardest hit area appears to be Canton. Robbie Westbrook, with Cherokee County Emergency Management said at least one person has been injured. He also reported multiple trees down, striking homes and cars from Waleska to southeast parts of the county.
A 58-year-old woman was trapped in her SUV after a tree fell on it. Cherokee County firefighters had to cut trees away from the vehicle to free the woman. She walked away with a bloody nose.
WSB’s Pete Combs found a little girl, no more than three, standing on the front porch of the small church and looked at the fallen tree with wide blue eyes.
“The lights turned off,” she said, “and we prayed.”
The storm that rolled through Canton Thursday evening blew down hundreds of trees and limbs, damaging homes, businesses and cars and knocking out power to about 5,000 people, according to early estimates from the Cherokee County Emergency Operations Center.
A more thorough damage assessment was underway overnight, an effort made more difficult by the widespread heavy damage, said Lt. Jay Baker at the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
“We have been responding to multiple reports of trees down across the roadways, trees down across the power lines, trees against homes,” he said. At least two people were hurt when their cars were struck by trees blown down by blasts of wind and rain, but Baker said none of the injuries was life-threatening.
Many residents said they were stunned by the sudden and ferocious nature of the storms.
“The screens inside our windows got blown out. Our windshields got broken. Three grown men turned almost like women,” said Daniel Payan.
At the church, more than a dozen people gathered for a function rushed to the basement when the power failed and winds blew a tree down onto the house next door.
“All the kids went down to the basement and the men ran out across to see if (the home’s resident) was okay and we called 911,” said church member Bria Vallaince. The woman inside the house was unhurt, Vallaince said. Her car was destroyed.
Jose Saragosa said he was in the shower when the storm knocked down a tree in his back yard. Several other trees in his neighborhood were also downed by the wind – some of them hitting power lines and houses. He and neighbors described the damage as extensive.
Bartow County: Cartersville Police along with the Georgia State Patrol and Emerson City Police are working no less than a half dozen accidents on both northbound and southbound I-75 from the Red Top Mountain Exit to just north of the Main Street exit. There are no injuries reported.
Fulton County: In Sandy Springs, crews were working overnight to clear numerous trees and power lines that were knocked down. A spokesperson told WSB authorities received more than 100 emergency calls in the first hour. At least 10 of those involved trees falling on structures.
There were also reports of a building collapse at the Legends at Dunwoody on Tree Lodge Parkway.
Sandy Springs police are asking drivers to pay attention Friday morning.
Closer to Atlanta, power outages were reported, and trees and branches were resting on houses and across streets. Large trees were reported down on Northside Drive at Peachtree Battle and Mount Paran Road at Garmon Road.
Sandy Springs: Sandy Springs City Hall is on a 10 a.m. delayed opening today. Last night's storms knocked out power, and it has not yet been restored. Non essential personnel are asked to contact their department heads.
The power outage also means that municipal court will be closed today. Those with court appearances are asked to call next week to receive their new court date. Major roads still closed because of the storm damage: Dalyrmple Road between Brandon Mill Road and Dunhill Terrace; the intersection of Heards Ferry Rd and Mt. Vernon Highway; Eastbound lane of Abernathy Road between Sentry Hill Trail and Glenridge Drive; Duncourtney Drive between Westserhall and Earslton Drive; 700 Riverside Drive; 4939 Northside Drive; 5254 Powers Ferry and Spalding; west of Glenridge. The City also has a number of smaller roads blocked by trees and debris. Motorists are asked to use extreme caution.
Cobb County: Lightning is believed to be the cause of a house fire on Pine Mountain Drive in Cobb County.
Cobb DOT reported approximately 70 trees down and 20 traffic signals not working in the northeast part of the county.
Gwinnett County: The AJC reports a portion of Norcross near the DeKalb County line was the hardest hit portion of the county, according to Cpl. Jake Smith with Gwinnett County police.
“Damage included downed trees and power lines, power outages, and damaged street sign and traffic signals,” Smith said in an emailed statement.
No serious injuries were reported.
The Liberty Heights community in the Norcross-Doraville area was especially hard hit, according to Lt. Colin Rhoden with the county’s fire department.
“Crews are going door to door checking for any other hazards and for the safety of the residents,” Rhoden said via email late Thursday.
In the Snellville area, a fire was reported in the woods in the 900 block of Tom Smith Road.
If there is storm damage in your area, we invite you to send photos and video to ureport@wsbradio.com.