Storms soaked the metro Atlanta area on Monday, and more storms and showers are in the forecast for Tuesday.
Some of the storms that are expected to move through the area Tuesday afternoon and evening could be strong, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said.
There were numerous reports Monday of trees down and roads flooded, including I-75 at Forest Parkway, where water forced the closure of some northbound lanes.
In Gwinnett County, firefighters were called to a home in the 5400 block of Ivanhoe Court in Norcross after a fallen tree severely damaged it, spokesman Lt. Colin S. Rhoden said.
No injuries were reported, but Liberty Taylor and Jay Harmon were left without a home, which was nearly cut in two.
“We cannot get in the house because it is too dangerous,” Taylor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If we open try to open the door, it night collapse. We cannot get our things out.”
Luckily, the couple was not home when the tree fell. The Red Cross is providing assistance.
Inclement weather caused another tree to fall in their backyard last week. The tree landed in the yard of neighbor Mike Scaglione, who was clearing that fallen tree Monday afternoon when the latest thunderstorms moved into the area. Then he heard a big crash.
“At first I thought it had hit my house. Then I ran over to the other house to make sure nobody was inside,” Scaglione said.
The Gwinnett fire department has asked surrounding neighbors to leave the area until a third tree that is leaning can be cut.
The Red Cross is providing a safe place for Taylor and Harmon to spend the night.
There were multiple reports Monday of downed trees and power lines and some houses struck by lightning in Cherokee County, fire department spokesman Tim Cavender said.
All of that followed a rough night.
The storms that swept into the area Sunday night dumped more than an inch of rain across the northern suburbs.
Fulton County’s public safety radio system was experiencing intermittent issues Monday afternoon linked to a lightning strike that happened Sunday night, Fulton spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt said in an emailed statement.
“All public safety officers are working from backup channels and are able to communicate without interruption,” she said. “At no time was the public 911 system affected by the issues.”
Technicians are evaluating the problem, she said.
The bad weather is lingering.
Rainfall totals through 8 a.m. included 1.35 inches in Marietta, 1.33 inches in Cartersville and 1.37 inches in Chamblee. The city’s official rain gauge at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport recorded 1.18 inches of overnight rain.
The storms brought a few trees down, including one that blocked Dunwoody Club Drive in Sandy Springs.
Another downed tree briefly blocked a couple of lanes of I-85 in Gwinnett County overnight, and a tree came crashing down on a house on Jesica Way off Bells Ferry Road in Cobb County.
Homeowner Cathy Neher, who rents out the damaged home, said the large oak tree crashed through the master bedroom and another bedroom around 2 a.m. Monday.
Neher said her tenants “had a house full of guests. It was a Father’s Day celebration, and there were about 15 people in the house.”
“Fortunately, everybody is okay,” Neher said. “Very, very shook up.”
When firefighters responded, they “said to turn off all power and all gas and that the place is uninhabitable,” Neher said.
“We did what we needed to do to take care of our tenants,” said Neher, who added that a 100-year-old oak fell in the backyard of her own home during last Thursday’s severe storms. “On the bright side, we’re going to have a ton of firewood.”
Also in Cobb County, a bridge leading into and out of the Pine Haven mobile home park on Sandtown Road collapsed after more than an inch of rain fell during a 1-hour period Sunday night, stranding several hundred residents inside the trailer park.
Some of those residents were crossing the damaged bridge on foot Monday morning, but no cars could go across the bridge.
“This is a total safety hazard, especially with small children,” resident Megan McCoy told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “A lot of people live here with small children, so this is a very huge safety hazard.”
McCoy said the bridge had only recently been repaired after collapsing earlier this year.
Alejandro Antonio Vasquez said the overnight collapse is the third time the bridge has washed out in the six years he has lived in the trailer park.
“All these people, they have to work,” he said of the stranded residents. “It’s no good.”
The risk of storms will continue much of the week, forecasters said.
“Thunderstorm potential will continue through the week as upper level disturbances enhance development in a moist and unstable environment,” the National Weather Service said. “The greatest chance will be across north Georgia Monday through Tuesday.”
Chandley put the chance of rain at 80 percent Tuesday, diminishing to 20 percent Friday.
Highs this week will be in the low to mid-80s, with overnight lows around 70 degrees.
—Angel K. Brooks and John Spink contributed to this report.
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