Thousands of metro Atlantans woke up in the dark Thursday morning.
A few others were awakened by falling trees, some of which crashed into homes, destroying roofs and personal belongings.
Strong storms that moved through the area produced violent winds for hours. Winds began to build around 10 p.m. Wednesday and electricity soon began to falter. Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said gusts reached up to 55 mph, bringing down trees and power lines.
At one point, nearly 60,000 customers were without power in the state.
“At times it almost sounded outside like a tropical storm,” Monahan said. “Maybe that woke you up overnight — that consistent, steady, strong wind.”
In Clayton County, a tree crashed through the roof of a home on Castlewood Drive, narrowly missing the homeowner’s 18-year-old daughter as she slept.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
“It just shook the whole entire house,” Lonnie Brooks told Channel 2.
Her daughter, Kennedy, said the tree “was actually extremely close to me. I’m talking about inches.”
“(My mom) just kept calling my name, like, ‘Kennedy, Kennedy, wake up!’” she told the news station.
Lonnie Brooks said she’s just grateful they’re both OK.
“I was just like, ‘Oh, my God,’ you know. I don’t know what I would’ve done if that tree would have landed on her,” she said. “It just would have been devastating.”
Nearly 30 miles north in DeKalb County, Phil Sedlack said the power at his house flickered overnight, but his home was undamaged. When he woke up, however, he saw that a large tree had fallen on top of his neighbor’s house on Brookcliff Way.
Credit: John Spink
Credit: John Spink
“A lot (of trees and branches) came down,” he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “That typically happens because of the huge — I mean, we have massive, and they’re old trees, and eventually things just happen ... It is amazing (the) damage what a large oak tree can do.”
Similar scenes played out across the metro area as sunrise approached and crews worked to restore electricity while property owners assessed the damage.
All of metro Atlanta and most of North Georgia remain under a wind advisory until 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Winds of 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph are expected.
The storms arrived in Atlanta after barreling through Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. They caused widespread destruction in those states and are blamed for at least one death.
The system also spawned a tornado in Slidell, Louisiana, that destroyed several buildings in the city of about 28,000, the Associated Press reported.
In Mississippi, the death of 64-year-old Shirley Wilson was attributed to the storm, according to the AP. Officials there said she required constant access to an electric oxygen machine, and when her home lost power, the machine shut down. First responders couldn’t reach her immediately and she died.
By the time the storms arrived in metro Atlanta, they had weakened overall but still packed a punch.
Credit: WSBTV Videos
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