Weather Service says small tornado hit Cherokee County subdivision

By Alexis Stevens and Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The National Weather Service Thursday determined that a small tornado caused wind damage in a Cherokee County neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.

The Weather Service said the Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency director surveyed the damage Thursday morning, and found that the tornado, which touched down at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday about four miles east-southeast of Holly Springs, was about 75 yards wide and stayed on the ground for 3/4 mile. The tornado had wind speeds estimated at 75 mph, according to the Weather Service.

The tornado snapped numerous trees, which fell on homes, causing major damage to three houses and minor damage to 10 others, according to the Weather Service.

The storm system that spawned the tornado and snarled traffic on the ground and in the air on Wednesday had moved well south of metro Atlanta by early Thursday, and will be replaced by cooler, drier weather into the weekend.

At 6 a.m. Thursday, most of the storms were concentrated from the Macon area southward, although a few patches of light rain lingered around metro Atlanta.

Thursday's high temperatures will reach the low 70s and may be breezy at times, Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said. And the low temperatures will be much cooler for the next several days, hovering in the mid-40s.

The cooler weather will be a big change from earlier in the week. More than an inch and a half of rain was recorded Wednesday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Heavy rains made a mess of things around town Wednesday afternoon, causing numerous vehicle crashes, downed trees and blocked highways during rush hour.

At 5:30 p.m., many highways were at a standstill while wrecks were being cleared. All lanes of I-75 southbound were blocked between Mount Paran and West Paces Ferry roads, and 285 westbound was blocked between I-20 westbound and Hollowell Parkway.

Standing water in low-lying areas made for treacherous driving conditions around the metro area. In Cherokee County, several homes were damaged by falling trees and downed power lines left some without electricity, authorities said.

Between six to eight homes in the Bradshaw Farms neighborhood hit by the tornado suffered moderate to extensive structural damag, Cherokee County fire spokesman Tim Cavender told the AJC.  One resident was treated for minor injuries.

Some Carroll County residents told Channel 2 Action News that despite a tornado warning earlier Wednesday, storm sirens never sounded.

"I mean I was hysterical. Our sirens never went off, nothing went off," Whitesburg resident Shannon Britt told Channel 2.

A tornado watch issued for several counties Atlanta area until 8 p.m. was lifted earlier as the threat of storms diminished, according to the Weather Service.

The weather was also believed to be the cause of an apartment fire in Roswell which displaced several families.