Minute-by-minute coverage of tornado outbreak in metro Atlanta

ATLANTA — Minute-by-minute coverage of the tornado outbreak in metro Atlanta on Wednesday.

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THE LATEST: 

• All active tornado warnings have expired
• Storms left a trail of damage across metro Atlanta
• Three confirmed tornados moved through metro Atlanta; one in Carroll, Haralson and Paulding counties, one in Cobb and Fulton counties and one in north Fulton, Forsyth counties
• Several schools delayed dismissal until severe weather moved through

5:27 p.m.: Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said there were 2.32" yesterday; 0.66" today, which amounts to a total of 2.98" of much needed rain at Atlanta.

5:12 p.m.: Wind damage report from Alpharetta -- tree was blown down on Windward Parkway near Clubhouse Drive.

4:26 p.m.: Cobb County officials say there is damage in Mableton and East Cobb, but fortunately no injuries have been reported after storms.

4:08 p.m.: 8,900 customers are without power statewide. 6,500 in metro Atlanta and another 1,500 in the Athens area.This does not account for any outages in areas covered by EMCS, this is only areas covered by Georgia Power.

3:50 p.m. Radar confirmed 3 tornadoes in metro Atlanta. One in Caroll, Haralson and Paulding counties; one that moved from Six Flags in Cobb County through Buckhead; and one in the Johns Creek, Cumming and Buford areas. National Weather Service crews will assess on Thursday to confirm.

3:45 p.m. Heavy rain continues to move through parts of north Georgia. Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued in Madison County.

3:13 p.m. Tornado warning expires for Barrow, Clarke and Jackson counties -- tornado watch continues for the area.

3:12 p.m.: Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said there are reports of trees down in the area of Ebenezer Road and Goode Road in Rockdale County, per EM.

3:06 p.m.: Heavy rain moving through Conyers, towards Covington.

3:01 p.m. Fayette County schools dismissal delayed due to severe weather.

[Download the free Severe Weather Team 2 app for alerts in your area]

3 p.m.: Habersham, Rabun and Stephens counties are under a severe thunderstorm warning until 3:30 p.m.

2:53 p.m.: The University of Georgia warned students to "seek shelter indoors immediately."

2:52 p.m.: Reports of sirens sounding at The University of Georgia. Tornado warning to west of Athens.

2:48 p.m.: Meriwether County no longer under a tornado warning.

2:44 p.m.: Barrow, Clarke and Jackson counties are under a tornado warning until 3:15 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

2:43 p.m.: Channel 2's Mike Petchenik reports trees down in Sandy Springs, Roswell.

2:36 p.m.: Fulton County now releasing elementary school students.

READ: School districts hold dismissal as severe weather moves through

2:35 p.m.: Tornado warning in Meriwether County until 3 p.m.

2:34 p.m.: Severe Weather Team 2 says radar indicates rotation west of Braselton

2:32 p.m.: Forsyth, Gwinnett and Hall counties no longer have a tornado warning.

2:29 p.m.: Forsyth County schools are delaying dismissal due to weather. All schools are on weather-related lockdown.

WATCH LIVE: Tornado warning issued in Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties

2:22 p.m.:  Storms moving into Buford area, towards Flowery Branch, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

2:17 p.m. City Schools of Decatur have delayed dismissal due to severe weather. Dismissal will resume once threat has passed.

2:15 p.m. Fulton and DeKalb counties no longer under a tornado warning.

2:14 p.m.: A tornado warning has been issued for Forsyth, Gwinnett and Hall Counties until 2:45 p.m. 

2:10 p.m.: Fulton County schools delaying elementary school release until strong weather passes.

2:06 p.m.: Severe Weather Team 2 is watching areas of rotation near Johns Creek and east of Buckhead.

2:03 p.m.: Fulton and DeKalb are still under a tornado warning until 2:15 p.m.

2 p.m.: A new severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for north Fulton County, Cherokee, Forsyth, Gwinnett and other counties.

1:54 p.m.: A confirmed tornado touched down in Vinings in Cobb County, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

1:52 p.m.: Traffic headed north on I-285 near Hollowell Parkway is at a standstill,  Nitz said.

1:49 p.m.: Sandy Springs, North Altanta, Dunwoody, Chamblee, Doraville and Norcross should seek shelter now, Nitz said.

1:47 p.m.: Cobb County has been dropped from the tornado warning.

1:44 p.m.: A second tornado was reportedly spotted on Bolton Road in Atlanta, according to Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan.

1:43 p.m.: Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls advised people near Riverside Intermediate School and Towns Elementary School to take shelter now.

1:26 p.m.: Winds could reach up to 60 mph and a small tornado is possible in Fulton, Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties, Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said.

1:18 p.m.: A tornado warning that was issued about 1 p.m. for Carroll, Haralson and Paulding counties has expired.

1:15 p.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Fulton, Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties. It expires at 2 p.m.

1:05 p.m.: A confirmed tornado was reported in Carroll County. Severe Weather Team 2 meteorologists warned residents to go to the basement or lowest levels of their homes. Stay in interior rooms if a basement is not an option.

Severe Weather Team 2 is tracking the system and threats for your area on Channel 2 Action News.

ORIGINAL STORY: A new tornado warning includes the area around Six Flags in Cobb County, parts of central Fulton County as well as DeKalb County until 2:15 p.m., Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.

Channel 2 meteorologist Katie Walls said there was a confirmed tornado on the ground per radar over Bolton Road, near Atlanta. This was the second confirmed tornado that had touched down, per radar. The first confirmed tornado was in Carroll County, according to the National Weather Service.

Walls said there was a confirmed tornado in northern Carroll County and that circulation was moving out of Carroll County into Paulding County, heading northeast toward Dallas.

The tornado warning in Carroll and Haralson counties will be in effect until 1:30 p.m. and a severe thunderstorm warning is in effect for Cobb, Douglas, Fulton and Paulding counties until 2 p.m.

A tornado watch has also been issued for metro Atlanta until 6 p.m.  The tornado risk is for isolated, brief tornadoes as the line moves toward the city. The tornado watch also includes part of Alabama and Florida.

WATCH LIVE: Tornado warning issued in Cobb, DeKalb and Fulton counties

The line of storms is bringing very heavy rain and strong wind potential.

The storms moved through northwest Georgia at about 11 a.m. Wednesday.

"The system has slowed. It is not moving as quickly as previous models suggested," meteorologist Karen Minton said.

The system is now expected to be over Atlanta between 2 and 4 p.m. Wednesday.

“At this point, it looks like it’s going to hang on a little bit longer,” Minton said.

Strong storms are possible in Atlanta through 4 p.m.

The threats include heavy rain, damaging wind and some chance for isolated tornadoes.

A tornado watch was issued for parts of north Georgia until 11 a.m. Wednesday. The watch has since expired.

The tornado watch included the following counties: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker and Whitfield.

[Download the free Severe Weather Team 2 app for alerts in your area]

Georgia saw rainfall for the first time in 43 days on Tuesday as the first of two rounds of rain moved through.

Much of the state is still in a level two drought.

A suspected tornado killed five people as a line of severe storms moved across the South overnight, authorities said.

The three who died were all in a mobile home in the northeastern Alabama community of Rosalie, Jackson County Chief Deputy Rocky Harnen told The Associated Press early Wednesday. Another person in the home was critically injured, Harnen said.

Harnen also said there were a number of other injuries and estimated that 16 to 20 structures in the county have been destroyed.

Cox Media Group