ATLANTA — At least one confirmed tornado and several tornado-warned storms moved through several metro Atlanta counties Friday night, leaving behind some damage and some people with minor injuries.
Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Burns said these storms popped up without any warning.
A Channel 2 Action News viewer reported that cars were overturned by the storm near a Chick-fil-A and a woman was possibly stuck inside a car on live power lines. Minor injuries were reported there.
The gym at Veterans Memorial Middle school was also damaged. Newton County school officials said nobody was in the gym when the storm hit. They reported no structural damage to the building and said they area will be cleaned up by the time students return to class on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has confirmed the storm in Newton County was a tornado, but will assess the damage Saturday morning to determine the strength of the storm.
Viewers also reported seeing a large funnel cloud in Villa Rica.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office reported a possible tornado touchdown near Temple. They reported the bulk of the damage on Cown Road, Old Villa Rica Road, New Brooklyn Church Road, Miller Agan Road and Long Branch Road.
SEVERE WEATHER UPDATE: At approximately 5:45pm today the Carroll County 911 center began to receive calls of a...
Posted by Carroll County Sheriff's Office on Friday, December 31, 2021
No injuries were reported in the area, but several homes were damaged. Deputies said Cown Road will be closed until further notice and the National Weather Service would be coming out Saturday morning to determine if there was an actual tornado.
Channel 2 Action News viewers shared photos of clearly-rotating funnel clouds in both Covington and Villa Rica.
Damage in Newton County. Cars flipped in Chick-fil-A parking lot on Salem Bridge Road. @ajc @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/mBF795YSpa
— MathCatGA (@mathcatga) December 31, 2021
Rotation also showing up between Ranger and Fairmount in east Gordon County… moving into Pickens. Take tornado precautions if you live in east Gordon/west Pickens now. @wsbtv pic.twitter.com/iEKCF7ThSS
— Brian Monahan, WSB (@BMonahanWSB) December 31, 2021
The storms come at the tail end of a storm system that brought at least one tornado to Hall County early Thursday morning. Most storms had tapered off by Friday, but scattered thunderstorms remained in some areas.
More storms are slated to move through north Georgia starting Saturday night.
Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Glenn Burns said there is a Level 3 out of 5 for some areas in northwest Georgia while others are under a Level 2 and Level 1 risk.
The new storm system comes after a line of severe storms and at least one confirmed tornado caused damage Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
Here is what to know for the weekend:
- New Year’s Eve will be wet with heavy downpours throughout the day and night
- The line of severe storms moves in Saturday night will last through Sunday morning
- Damaging wind gusts and heavy rain are the main threats
- Hail and brief, spin-up tornadoes can’t be ruled out
[INTERACTIVE: StormTracker 2HD Radar]
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