Cleanup is expected to continue across north Georgia Friday in the wake of strong storms and possible tornadoes that raked the area overnight Thursday.
Though Hall County was spared the fury that slammed other places in north Georgia there were downed trees and powerlines, blocked roads, and power outages here. But property damage was minimal, according to the county’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA).
The top wind gust at the Gainesville airport during the night was 26 mph. Rainfall totaled just under three inches. Elsewhere in the area, Dahlonega recorded 6.32 inches and Cumming 3.32.
Habersham and White counties appear to have been the hardest hit among nearby counties, with Habersham, at one point, reporting at least 13 roads that were blocked by trees, powerlines, and/or flooding. White County High School was closed Thursday because of a power outage but other schools were open.
Habersham EMC, whose crews were expected to work into the night Thursday restoring power across its service area, declared in a Facebook posting: “Today was very challenging for our crews and for our members. We are continuing to work through the night tonight until every member has been restored. We are making progress.”
The electric co-op said it suffered “23 broke poles from this storm, plus numerous miles of wire torn down,” adding, “we thank you for your patience and understanding, we have the best members! Please remain vigilant and safe if you have to get out.”
The hardest hit area just to the northwest of us appeared to be Gilmer County where there was considerable property damage in addition to downed trees and powerlines. The National Weather Service (NWS) plans to survey the area Friday to determine if a tornado or tornadoes caused the damage.
1:00 P.M. THURSDAY- The tornado watch issue early today has expired but damage left behind by overnight storms across north Georgia is still being cleared and power crews continue trying to restore power.
EARLIER POST. 7 A.M. THURSDAY:
Hall County is included in a new tornado watch that was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) at 7:00 this morning. It’s scheduled to expire at 1:00 this afternoon. Also included are Barrow, Forsyth, Lumpkin, Dawson, Banks, White and Jackson, along with 62 other counties stretching from the mountains to central Georgia.
During the night, watches were posted for several northwest Georgia counties as well as Hall, Dawson, Lumpkin, and White.
Also, strong thunderstorms moved through parts of north Georgia overnight, resulting in downed trees and powerlines in some places and some property damage.
At the height of one of the storms, around 3:00 this morning, Jackson EMC was reporting power outages in a number of counties in its service area with Banks, Hall, Lumpkin and Franklin the hardest hit areas. Habersham EMC was dealing with major problems in Habersham and White counties.
WRWH in Cleveland reports that White County High School is closed today because it is without power, but all other schools are open.
Click on the links below to see the latest outage maps for electrical service providers in our area:
GPC Outage Map (georgiapower.com)
(Photo courtesy Habersham EMC.)