Georgia Weather: Wind Advisory Declared After Storms Pummel State

ATLANTA, GA — Much of north and central Georgia, including metro Atlanta, was under a wind advisory Thursday morning, a day after wave after wave of thunderstorms lashed the state.

The National Weather Service was forecasting strong, gusty wind for the region Thursday. Winds are expected to be 15-25 m.p.h., gusting to 35 m.p.h. or higher.

The advisory is in effect through 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, more than 4,500 Georgia Power customers remained without power Thursday morning — most of them in a bow-shaped band from Rome in the west to Hartwell in the east and including parts of metro Atlanta.

(Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts)

Thunderstorms began rolling into the region early Wednesday morning and didn't let up until late Wednesday night. The impact was felt from the Alabama state line to the Georgia coast, with multiple reports of likely tornado touchdowns, hail and wind damage.

City workers got caught in a flooded creek in Atlanta, lightning strikes caused house fires in the Atlanta suburbs, trees fell on homes and cars and residents were left without power for hours as the state was pummeled by one storm after another.

In all, more than 4 inches of rain fell Wednesday in Atlanta, according to the National Weather Service.

National Weather Service meteorologist Adam Baker said crews were just beginning to survey damage from the storms Thursday morning, including the scenes of potential tornado touchdowns.

"From what we can tell of the storms yesterday, it does seem like the damage was greater, but there were not as many" damage reports as on Monday.

As of Wednesday, the NWS had confirmed just three tornadoes from Monday — one in Carroll County, one in Spalding County and one in Henry County.

"Surveys are ongoing and will take days if not weeks given additional severe storms anticipated on Wednesday," the service said in the report.

On Wednesday, the National Weather Service reported an apparent tornado ripping through south-central Georgia at about 1:30 p.m. A tornado emergency was declared for a band of the state stretching from south of Americus east to Cordele to the south and Vienna and Lilly to the north.

Photo courtesy Walton County Sheriff's Office