EF-1 tornado confirmed in Spalding County, 2nd tornado in Henry
Cleanup after tornado in Spalding County
The National Weather Service now confirms a tornado hit Spalding County on Monday morning. Surveyors are out determining the exact intensity.
SPALDING COUNTY, Ga. - The National Weather Service has confirmed that two tornadoes touched down in the southern part of metro Atlanta during Monday morning's severe storms.
Weather officials say they have found two separate tornado tracks - one in Spalding County and the other in Henry County - and are looking for a potential third track.
Tornadoes in Spalding and Henry counties
What we know:
Survey teams say the tornado that formed near Griffin appears to be a low-end EF-1 with winds that reached around 90 mph. The other tornado crossed Interstate 75 and appeared to be EF-0 damage.
The survey remains ongoing.
What they're saying:
Spalding County resident Donna Coates said she got a notification on her phone around 7:30 a.m. that a storm was heading her way.
"I was in the bathroom closet. That was the safest place. And then, all the sudden, I just heard this awful, awful boom," she explained.
That was the moment a massive tree fell by her home on Vineyard Road. Part of her house was hit, but the main part of the tree fell just inches away.
FOX LOCAL: Tree falls on home in Spalding County
A tree fell on a home during Monday morning's storm in Spalding County. Luckily, it didn't cause severe damage to the house or anyone inside.
"My husband and I got in the hall and put on our little helmets, and it passed by," resident Nancy Lee said.
After riding out previous storms in this area, Lee takes any alert seriously.
Dig deeper:
Since last Wednesday, more than 300 tornado warnings were issued by the National Weather Service as a severe storm system made its way across the Midwest and into the South.
Officials estimate the storms have killed dozens of people since last week as they doused the region with heavy rain. At least 157 tornadoes struck within seven days beginning March 30, according to a preliminary report from the weather service.
While the threat of heavy winds and rain has left the region, many parts of the Southern Plains and Mississippi, Tennessee and Ohio valleys remain flooded.
Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong winds and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.
The Source: Information for this story was taken from the National Weather Service, previous FOX 5 reports, and the Associated Press.