Strong storms move across Georgia leaving damage

[Robyn Appleton]

Image source; http://www.wsbtv.com/gallery/news/storm-damage-across-metro-atlanta...

EDIS Number:	ST-20120711-35747-USA
Event type:	Extreme Weather
Date/Time:	Wednesday, 11 July, 2012 at 13:41 (01:41 PM) UTC

Houses split by trees or struck by lightning, wind-torn roofs and downed power lines. These are the signs of damage that another day of storms has brought to metro Atlanta. And it’s not over. Numerous scattered heavy showers and storms are expected into the weekend. Tuesday’s bout of severe weather brought issues throughout metro Atlanta. In Smyrna, a large tree invaded Kandy Brown's bedroom. Splintered debris is all that's left of her dresser. "I've got to go to work," says Brown. "I don't have anything to wear." In Mableton, Jacklyn Fabrizio made a quick trip to the gas station, returning to find two trees where she usually parks her car. “I was pretty surprised there was a tree in my house," Fabrizio told WSB TV "But I was more relieved I wasn't right over there where I usually park." You would think something like a tree smashing through a house would make a lot of noise, but neighbors near Marchman Drive in Sandy Springs say they didn't hear a thing, as the thunder drowned out the sound of splitting wood. "We couldn't hear anything beyond the thunder," says neighbor Joel Blackford, who lives just across the street. "The house was almost cut in two." The sound of other crashing trees was plenty loud on Hunting Creek Road. "I heard a real heavy boom," says Bill Buckley, whose elderly neighbors were trapped for a time by two trees that crashed into their home. "Sounded like a refrigerator was just dropped on the floor." No one was hurt.

In Cherokee County, firefighters thought lightning caused a house to catch fire at 4697 Jefferson Township Lane shortly after 7 p.m. A 69-year-old woman and a 75-year old man were inside the home, but they got out without major injury. Firefighters in Gwinnett County dealt with several reports of trees and wires down. Only minor damage was reported to some homes and no one was hurt, Gwinnett fire Captain Tommy Rutledge said. "Based on the magnitude of the storm, we are extremely fortunate that there were no reports of injury or major damage," Rutledge said. As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Georgia Power reported roughly 7,600 customers were without electricity. About 7,000 of those affected were in metro Atlanta. Planning ahead for the rest of the week, I am calling for a 60-70 percent chance of showers and some big storms Wednesday and Thursday with highs 86-90. The storm risk drops down to 50 percent on Friday with the high around 87.

Source; http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_summary&edis_id...