Metro Atlanta woke up to more stormy weather that will continue throughout Monday, including a radar-confirmed tornado in areas south of the city.
The storms also prompted Augusta National Golf Club to evacuate its grounds and suspend Monday’s practice round at around 11:25 a.m. The course had opened to patrons at 8 a.m. after a slight weather delay.
The weather update from the Masters came hours after Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan reported signs of debris from a radar-confirmed tornado south of metro Atlanta.
At about 7:35 a.m., the debris signature appeared to be heading toward Birdie Road, Manlet Road and Vineyard Road in Spalding County. Monahan said that the lofted debris was seen for more than 15 minutes, meaning “this potentially could be a significant tornado touchdown here in North Spalding County.”
The tornado warning, which originally included Spalding, Fayette, Henry, Clayton and Butts counties, was in effect from about 7:30 a.m. through shortly after 8 a.m.
Trees fell on two homes in Spalding, one along Woolman Lane and another on North Salem Road, county officials said, and downed trees closed some roads. No injuries were reported.
In Fayette, no major damage has been reported, the county’s fire chief said. A traffic light and power lines were down, but no roads were closed as of midmorning.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is checking for any additional damage.
As of 11:15 a.m., Georgia Power reported about 5,000 outages scattered across the state, including nearly 2,000 in metro Atlanta. Georgia’s electric cooperatives reported 3,400 customers without power statewide.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, more than 40 flights to the Atlanta airport were canceled Monday with dozens more delayed, according to FlightAware.com. That comes after more than 150 flights were canceled Sunday.
Security checkpoints at Hartsfield-Jackson were also long Monday morning as travelers tried to fly out, with wait times at the main security checkpoint nearing an hour long at around 8 a.m.
Monday’s weather follows severe storms Sunday that are blamed for the deaths of a father and son on a Muscogee County golf course.
The pair were crushed Sunday evening by a falling tree, under which they had taken refuge from the storm. The deadly incident happened on the Bull Creek Golf Course in Columbus. The Muscogee coroner’s office identified them as Matthew Terrell Collins Sr., 58, and Matthew Terrell Collins Jr., 29, according to Channel 2 Action News.
“Marty, the girls, and I are saddened by the tragic deaths of two Georgians in Muscogee County today as a result of the severe weather,” Gov. Brian Kemp posted to social media. “We that you join us in keeping their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers, along with all those responding to storm damage.”
Sunday’s storms also caused power outages and prompted the Braves to reschedule a game against the Miami Marlins to Aug. 9. Departures to Atlanta’s airport were temporarily grounded.
On Monday, another inch or two of rain is expected, and temperatures will also be significantly lower than we’ve seen the past few days. Bands of rain are slowly moving across the state from the Gulf Coast and will continue for much of the day.
“Keep the umbrella handy throughout the afternoon, even into the early part of the evening,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said.
In central Georgia, there is a Level 1 of 5 risk for severe storms, and a Level 2 of 5 risk is in place over southeast Georgia and along the coast.
By Monday night, some areas in the state’s northwest corner could see up to 5 inches of rain since Sunday. The continuous rain has prompted a flood watch that remains in effect for much of North and Middle Georgia. It expires at 8 p.m. Monday.
“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” according to the Weather Service.
Highs Monday will top out in the mid 60s as opposed to the mid 70s on Sunday and the upper 80s we saw last week. Overnight lows will dip into the 30s and 40s, potentially prompting frost advisories across North Georgia.
Tuesday will be cooler with a projected high of just 61 degrees, but things will stay dry under sunny skies. A few clouds will filter in on Wednesday, but we should see a repeat of Tuesday’s dry, sunny conditions.
— Staff writers Taylor Croft and Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this article.
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