A rare summertime cold front pushed severe storms into metro Atlanta on Monday, knocking over trees, creating a transit mess and causing widespread power outages
At one point, more than 200,000 Georgia Power customers lost power across the state, and more than 28,000 still had no electricity Tuesday afternoon. As many as 1,300 members of Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives were still in the dark, with the majority of those in metro Atlanta.
The outages affected multiple schools, including Southwest DeKalb High School on its second day back in class. Students there were evacuated to other high schools in the area, district officials said. It was not clear when the power would be restored, but officials said the displaced students would return to their original school for dismissal.
In Coweta County, where classes resumed last week, Willis Road Elementary and Lee Middle were closed Tuesday, school administrators posted to social media. They expect to resume normal operations on Wednesday.
The storms also caused major delays for travelers on the road and in the air on Monday. Hundreds of flights were canceled, delayed or rerouted. Downed trees, fallen electrical wires and flooded roads were reported all across the metro area during the evening commute.
While some flight disruptions continued Tuesday morning, they were less severe. About 77 Atlanta flights have been canceled compared to more than 380 the day before, according to FlightAware.com.
With tree debris everywhere, cleanup efforts were in full swing Tuesday. One of those faced with the task was Virginia White. She and her husband were awaiting the storm in their DeKalb County home on Trailwood Road when the wind kicked up and rain started to pour around 6 p.m. Monday, she said.
“I was standing at the window looking out at it, and it was just terrible,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Credit: John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com
Shortly after, she felt the house shake and realized a tree had fallen on its roof. She and her husband are OK, but their kitchen is badly damaged.
The couple was already planning to have the tree cut down and had started the removal process, White said. It had grown up with them since they moved into the house in October of 1970, but it was time for it to go.
“When we moved here it was a small tree,” she said. “He (her husband) wanted to cut it down, and I said, ‘No, it’s so pretty! Let it grow.’ But last few years, he’s been saying, ‘Maybe we need to cut that tree down, with the storms and all.’”
Family and neighbors are helping them figure out their next steps.
Across town in Sandy Springs, another woman had a close call with a falling tree. Kaitlyn Lauk.told Channel 2 Action News that she was providing shuttle service at a dinner event when a tree crashed onto the roof of her SUV and another vehicle.
“I was just standing outside the car, letting a guest in, and heard the tree just crack,” Lauk told the news station. “It happened so fast, I heard the shattering of the tree and the shattering of the glass ... I’m very lucky to be alive.”
Credit: WSBTV Videos
After a mostly sunny day on Tuesday, more rain is coming Wednesday along with a Level 1 of 5 risk of severe weather, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. Rain chances are expected to stick around through the end of the week and into the weekend.
“A few storms pop up. Nothing like what we saw yesterday,” Monahan said. Monday’s severe weather risk was at Level 3, an unusually high threat level for this time of year.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
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