Wind advisory and flood watch still in effect for metro Atlanta, other Georgia counties, thousands without power
The National Weather Service says a tornado watch for metro Atlanta and several central Georgia counties has expired, but severe weather could still impact the area.
Highway 74 at Rodgers Church and Lower Simmons is blocked by downed trees, and drivers are urged to use caution and be prepared for other areas impacted by downed trees.
The watch included 38 counties across central, west-central, north-central and northwest Georgia, including Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Douglas, Fayette, and Rockdale counties.
Other counties included in the original watch stretched from Carroll and Paulding counties west of Atlanta to Bibb, Houston and Peach counties in central Georgia. Communities affected include Atlanta, Decatur, Marietta, Lawrenceville, Douglasville, Griffin, Newnan, Peachtree City, Macon and Warner Robins.
A tornado watch means weather conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms to develop. Residents are encouraged to closely monitor forecasts and be prepared to take shelter if a tornado warning is issued for their area.
The watch remains in effect until 11 p.m. EDT.
Flood watch in place for dozens of Georgia counties
A flood watch is also in effect for parts of Baldwin, Barrow, Bartow, Bibb, Bleckley, Butts, Carroll, Chattahoochee, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Crawford, Crisp, DeKalb, Dodge, Dooly, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Greene, Gwinnett, Hancock, Haralson, Harris, Heard, Henry, Houston, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, Laurens, Macon, Marion, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Muscogee, Newton, Oconee, Paulding, Peach, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Putnam, Rockdale, Schley, Spalding, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor, Troup, Twiggs, Upson, Walton, Washington, Webster, Wilcox, and Wilkinson counties.
The National Weather Service warns that the saturated ground may result In flooded rivers, creeks, streams, and other areas across Georgia.
This watch is expected to expire late Friday night.
Storm brings power outages across North Georgia
Thousands of people have been left without power as the massive storm system moves across metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
As of 11 p.m., over 25,000 Georgians are still without power in the state.
The majority of the outages are in Putnam, Bibb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Monroe counties.
Georgia Power says that its crews are ready to respond to any outages as soon as it's safe to do so.
Tree falls into Atlanta home as storms pass through metro Atlanta
It was a wet and rainy night in Metro Atlanta on Thursday after the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur passed through our area.
There were some tornado warnings just south of Metro Atlanta, but inside the metro a tree fell on a home on Curran Street near Atlantic Station.
The tree fell on Thursday and the homeowner told CBS Atlanta no one was injured.
CBS Atlanta spoke to Georgia Tech Student, Srujan Guppi, who lives across the street and said it's a popular area for students to rent houses.
He said he was driving earlier today and noticed how hard it was raining.
"The weather was pretty bad I couldn't see at one point while I was driving, everyone was driving with their blinkers on I-85," Guppi said.
Guppi said they've had a tree fall behind their house before as well.
"Even one of my old roommates, there's a tree that fell in the back where we have all of our cars parked and it's like you know you don't want that happening to your car, your house or something like that," Guppi said.
Flights delayed, canceled at Atlanta airport due to weather
Flights at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport are experiencing heavy delays due to the thunderstorms passing through the area.
The delays come after a ground stop expired at the world's busiest airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration reports that the average flight delay is 70 minutes for arrivals and 90 minutes for departures. Delays are expected to continue until 11 p.m.
Data from FlightAware showed approximately 637 flights at Hartsfield-Jackson have been delayed on Thursday, with 60 flight cancellations.
Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has seen more than 1100 flights delayed across the country due to weather.
Cherokee County outdoor sirens restored after system-wide outage
Nearly all of Cherokee County's outdoor warning sirens are back online after a system-wide outage that affected 58 sirens throughout the area. The sirens, positioned near parks and schools, are a critical part of the county's emergency notification system, serving more than 300,000 residents and workers.
The outage was first reported by the county's emergency warning system on Wednesday morning. Technicians and the county's maintenance contractor identified the problem, and by Thursday, all but one siren had been restored to working order.
County officials emphasize that outdoor warning sirens are designed to alert people who are outdoors and should not be relied upon as the only source of severe weather information. "It's important to have multiple ways to receive warnings so if one system fails, another can still reach you," said Erika Neldner, Communications Director for Cherokee County Public Safety.
One of the most reliable options is a NOAA Weather Radio, which monitors National Weather Service alerts around the clock and automatically sounds an alarm when a watch or warning is issued.
You can also sign up for RAVE Alerts by texting CHEROKEEEMA to 226787 or by visiting https://www.cherokeega-ema.org/ and clicking on the Rave tab. Most local news station apps will also send weather alerts to your phone if you are signed up. Pick your favorite option and stay informed!
Counties included in the Tornado Watch
Metro Atlanta
- Clayton
- Cobb
- DeKalb
- Douglas
- Fayette
- Fulton
- Gwinnett
- Rockdale
Other Georgia counties
- Carroll
- Chattahoochee
- Coweta
- Crisp
- Dooly
- Harris
- Heard
- Houston
- Marion
- Meriwether
- Muscogee
- Paulding
- Stewart
- Talbot
- Troup
- Webster
CBS News Atlanta will continue monitoring weather conditions and the impact. We'll provide updates as they become available.
