Fast-moving thunderstorms swept across metro Atlanta on Saturday evening, toppling trees and power lines and leaving more than 50,000 customers without electricity at the height of the disruption.
Severe thunderstorm warnings covered portions of Gwinnett, DeKalb and Fulton counties, including communities around Roswell, Dunwoody, Doraville, Duluth and Alpharetta. Forecasters warned that the strongest cells could produce wind gusts near 60 mph and hail up to an inch in diameter.
Trees and lines come down
Fulton County accounted for roughly 34,000 of the reported outages Saturday night. Cobb EMC reported about 900 customers without power, while Jackson EMC counted more than 4,000 outages in Hall County as of about 9:30 p.m. Those figures were a snapshot of conditions during the storm and can change quickly as crews isolate damage and restore service.
In Roswell, a large tree fell onto a home. Fire officials said no injuries were reported in that incident. Other reports across the region included blocked roads, fallen limbs and damaged utility equipment.
Checking an outage
Residents should stay well away from any downed wire and treat it as energized. Georgia Power customers can view reported interruptions and restoration estimates through the utility’s outage map, while EMC customers should check with their local cooperative. Anyone who sees a line down across a road or near a home should call 911 and notify the utility.
Sources: FOX 5 Atlanta and Georgia Power Outage & Storm Center.
