Storms bring down trees, knock out power to 50K in metro Atlanta
Downed tree knocks out power in southwest Atlanta
More than 50,000 customers are without power in metro Atlanta after severe Saturday afternoon storms brought down trees and power lines.
ATLANTA - More than 50,000 customers are without power across core metro Atlanta counties after strong storms brought down trees and power lines on Saturday afternoon.
What we know:
A line of strong storms combined over the metro area, prompting severe thunderstorm warnings for portions of Gwinnett, DeKalb, and Fulton counties between Roswell, Dunwoody, Doraville, Duluth, and Alpharetta.
The main core of the storm produced heavy downpours, hail up to one inch in diameter, and damaging wind gusts reaching 60 miles per hour.
First responders across the region handled numerous tree-down calls, including in Roswell, where fire officials reported a large tree fell onto a home. The department also cleared trees blocking roadways across the city. The department said no one was injured.
Georgia Power reports more than 50,000 customers are without electricity across the region, with the heaviest concentration in Fulton County, where more than 34,000 outages have been reported. Cobb EMC has reported more than 900 people without power.
Jackson EMC also reported more than 4,000 people were without power in Hall County as of 9:30 p.m. The company stated that it is down from the 14,000 people without power earlier this evening.
What they're saying:
In southwest Atlanta, FOX 5's Larry Spruill reported from Selwin Avenue SW, where a large tree uprooted and collapsed onto power lines and a transformer, knocking out power to the entire neighborhood.
Resident Marverly Williams described returning home around 6 p.m. right as the storm struck and her lights went out.
"It was raining. The wind was blowing. I went into my house to turn on the lights and I came out and noticed my back light wasn’t on... I came out and I said, 'Oh my God, I can’t even get out.' It happened so fast," Williams added.
What we don't know:
Georgia Power, Cobb EMC and Jackson EMC have not yet provided an estimated time for full power restoration as crews assess damage and clear downed trees.
It's unclear how long it will take to clear some roadways of downed trees.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from official Georgia Power outage maps, the FOX 5 Storm Team and Roswell Fire Department.