Metro Atlanta was spared the brunt of Monday morning’s severe weather as strong storms that spawned deadly tornadoes in Alabama weakened as they moved into cooler, more stable air that had built up over Georgia.
Atlanta officially picked up 1 inch of rain, mostly Monday morning, Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said.
At 6 a.m., as the strongest of the storms began crossing the state line from the west, Atlanta’s temperature was 45 degrees. Just 90 miles to the west in Anniston, Ala., the temperature was 66. In northwest Georgia, the temperature at 6 a.m. was 47 in Rome, while Gadsden, Ala., only 60 miles away, reported 64 degrees.
While tornado watches were posted Monday morning for northwest, west and southwest Georgia, the only warning was a severe thunderstorm warning issued before 10 a.m. for Heard and Troup counties.
That wasn’t the case next door in Alabama, where at least two tornadoes roared across the heart of the state, killing two people and injuring more than 100 others. More than 200 homes were destroyed, the Red Cross said, and just as many houses were heavily damaged.
Tornado warnings were posted for several counties northeast of Birmingham just before 5:30 a.m. after radar and trained storm spotters indicated a "large and extremely dangerous" tornado near Trussville, the National Weather Service said. The Weather Service was just getting reports of "major structural damage" in Trussville at 5:30.
Other tornado warnings were posted for storms in Alabama that possibly spawned tornadoes southeast of Birmingham.
Searchers in the Birmingham area were going from house-to-house in the Center Point community early Monday in an effort to rescue people trapped in their homes.
In Clanton, about 50 miles south of Birmingham, rescuers were responding to reports of a trailer overturned with people trapped inside. Also in Clanton, a radio station was destroyed and the station's 300-foot transmission tower toppled.
Before reaching Alabama, the weather system spawned possible tornadoes in four Arkansas counties.
Georgia's first tornado watch was issued around 3 a.m. for residents of 11 northwest Georgia counties, from Haralson, Polk and Bartow counties northward, and was extended at 5:30 a.m. to include Carroll, Troup, Heard and Harris counties in west Georgia. Most of those counties were later dropped from the watch.
About two dozen counties south and west of metro Atlanta remained under a tornado watch at 9 a.m. That watch, which was in effect until 4 p.m., included the Newnan, Columbus and Macon areas.
A severe thunderstorm warning was posted at 9:40 a.m. for Troup and Heard counties, effective until 10:30 a.m.
A wind advisory is also in effect through noon Monday for extreme north Georgia, where forecasters are predicting gusts to 50 mph.
Several wrecks were reported on the wet roads during the Monday morning commute, including a crash involving an overturned vehicle that blocked the Spaghetti Junction ramp from I-85 southbound to I-285 westbound at 5:30 a.m.
Atlanta police were working a wreck around daybreak Monday that involved a MARTA bus. The bus hit a tree on Nathan Road in southwest Atlanta, according to police dispatchers.
MARTA spokeswoman Cara Hodgson said 19 people, including the bus driver, were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital.
Burns said to expect sunshine Tuesday and highs in the mid 60s.
Sunday was overcast and cool with a high of 56 and a low of 50. It was calm compared to Saturday when golf ball-size hail, multiple lightning strikes and downed trees were reported. Flash flood warnings also were issued but later lifted.
Coweta County was under a tornado warning Saturday, but no tornado was reported. However, emergency management officials said 10 homes were damaged by the storm. No injuries were reported. In DeKalb County, law enforcement reported trees and power lines down along on Howard Street south of Memorial Drive, including reported damage to a center for senior citizens.
Elsewhere, at least five apartments were flooded at the Audubon Town & Country Apartments on Clay Street in Fairburn in south Fulton County.
Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft said at least 6,600 homes were without power across the state, but power was restored to most by late afternoon.
With the chance of more severe weather on the horizon, Kraft said more outages could occur from fallen trees on power lines. Outages can be reported at 1-888-891-0938.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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