2 Hall County schools damaged by twisters

Metro Atlanta residents have welcomed the wet remnants of Tropical Storm Fay, but on Tuesday the weather grew more menacing in North Georgia.

Tornadoes reportedly touched down in Hall County and also in Jackson County.

The National Weather Service reported a funnel cloud in Jackson County at 4:30 p.m., with significant damage in Commerce. Forecaster Mike Griesinger said high-powered winds injured two and damaged more than 40 mobile homes in Commerce.

In Hall County, the twisters damaged two elementary schools and downed trees, authorities said.

“Thankfully, there were no injuries,” said Hall County fire marshal Scott Cagle, who also works with the county’s Emergency Management Agency.

Cagle said two twisters were spotted shortly after 3:30 p.m. in southwest Hall. Oakwood Elementary and Lyman Hall Elementary schools — about seven miles apart — both had roof damage, Cagle said.

“At Oakwood, three air conditioning units were blown from the roof, and at Lyman Hall there was damage to the gymnasium,” he said.

Hall County Schools spokesman Gordon Higgins said although school was out at the time the storm struck, the 150 or so after-school students inside the schools weren’t hurt. The children were taken to “safe spaces” in the lowest areas of the schools. “Our staff did an excellent job of getting the kids out,” Higgins said.

By Tuesday evening, the Weather Service reported between two and four inches of rain had fallen in North Georgia and Middle Georgia.

Since the rain started falling Sunday night, Lake Lanier rose more than a foot through 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, adding about 11 billion gallons of water to the reservoir that supplies much of metro Atlanta’s water. That extra water would supply metro Atlanta for almost a month.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicts Lanier will continue to rise this week as upstream rivers and tributaries continue draining into it. Lanier is not expected to fall back to its pre-storm level for another two weeks.

But the reprieve to the long-standing drought could be short-lived: Lanier had dropped more than four feet since June 1, and remains more than 16 feet below full. The lake would need to rise another foot or so to reach the previous low-water mark for August.

Lisa Coghlan, a corps spokeswoman, said the corps is holding most of the rainwater in the lake.

Hydropower operations, in which the corps releases large amounts of water over a short period to generate electricity, were called off Monday and Tuesday, she said. The action minimizes downstream flooding and allows the lake to continue adding water.

Forecasters predict a 20 percent chance of rain Wednesday, with highs around 83. Thursday and Friday, expect even less of a chance of rain, with highs around 90.

Chances of afternoon showers pick up, however, over the Labor Day weekend, forecaster Mike Griesinger said.

“Expect highs around the 90s, which where we should be for August,” Griesinger said. “Then [next week] it turns to watching where Hurricane Gustav ends up.”..