Thousands of Georgians were without power Sunday after the state was hit with strong, windy storms over the weekend that led to at least one death.
The system, which pushed in from Alabama, reached west Georgia around 4 p.m. Saturday. The brunt of the storm moved over the city around 7 p.m. and severe weather is expected again throughout Georgia on Sunday.
Gov. Brian Kemp confirmed in a post on X that at least one Georgian died due to the severe storms.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, 56-year-old Jason Keith Payne was driving a 2000 Nissan Altima on Ga. 51 at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday night when a tree fell onto his vehicle in Banks County. The Carnesville resident died at the scene, officials said.
“As we keep them in our thoughts, we’re also praying for the first responders rushing to help those affected by this strong weather system and the safety of those in its path,” Kemp wrote.
The heavy downpours left nearly 120,000 customers without power statewide as of 8 p.m. Saturday, Georgia Power reported on its website.
Most outages were reported in North Georgia. By Sunday evening, about 18,000 were without power.
“Damage remains from Saturday, and additional damage may occur Sunday with saturated ground and high winds, which could result in downed trees. Georgia Power continues to remind customers that dangerous conditions exist following a storm, and to always avoid downed power lines and heed the advice of local, state, and federal emergency authorities in storm-affected areas,” Georgia Power said in a statement on Sunday.
Georgia EMC, which represents the cooperatives that primarily serve rural parts of the state, reported about 18,500 without power around 2 p.m. Sunday, with most of the outages in the metro area. That was a decrease from about 110,000 customers late Saturday night.
On West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead, a massive tree toppled and brought down power lines. Drivers were forced to turn around because the road was completely blocked.
Most of North Georgia, as far south as LaGrange and Griffin, was under a Level 3 out of 5 risk for severe weather on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Middle and South Georgia were under a Level 2 threat.
Downpours continued into Sunday, but the risk for severe weather decreased in North Georgia and parts of Middle Georgia.
In areas north of Columbus, Macon and Eatonton, the NWS says there will be a Level 1 risk. Areas south of those cities will be under a Level 2.
“The greatest threat will be across central GA from this morning through the afternoon hours. The primary threat will be damaging wind gusts,” the NWS said.
Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for several counties Sunday, including parts of metro Atlanta. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are also expected 2-10 p.m. The possibility of a brief tornado remains.
So far this year, the Peach State has seen 36 tornadoes, most of which — 21 — have been EF0 twisters with wind speeds between 70 and 85 mph, according to NWS data analyzed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The most recent, however, was an EF2. It was the strongest so far and caused the most severe damage, including injuring two people.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much sunshine in the forecast. Each day through at least Thursday will bring scattered thunderstorms, and with all the rain, high temperatures will remain in the low to mid-80s.
» For a detailed forecast, visit www.ajc.com/weather.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @WSBTraffic on X.
» Download The Atlanta Journal-Constitution app for weather alerts on-the-go.
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