A stormy afternoon damaged dozens of boats on Lake Lanier, delayed flights for more than an hour, nearly spawned a tornado and left downed trees and floodwaters across many metro Atlanta roads.
The treacherous afternoon began a little before 2 p.m. with a ground stop at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. All flights were grounded for about two hours, causing most people to endure an hour-long wait to board their flight, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
As the storms pounded metro Atlanta with rain, problems also quickly emerged on the Northside.
Power lines were knocked down in Dunwoody, trees fell across several surface streets in Sandy Springs and torrential rain flooded Peachtree Boulevard in Chamblee.
About the same time, both Ga. 400 and I-285 had to be shut down after mud-colored water submerged travel lanes near the I-285/Ga. 400 interchange. Delays quickly increased in the area as drivers moved to surface streets.
Similar flooding took place in Atlanta’s Lindbergh neighborhood. Channel 2 Action News reported that several vehicles became stuck in the floodwater and the people inside had to be rescued by authorities.
The storms did not just affect drivers. Many boaters on Lake Lanier will not be happy when they return to the Aqualand and Holiday marinas to find their damaged vessels.
A few tweets showed several damaged boats after covered docks were knocked down by heavy rain and wind.
Channel 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said the likely culprit for the damage was a microburst.
Microbursts take place when cool air collapses in the middle of a strong thunderstorm, leading to the air being forced outward near the ground. When this happens, wind speeds can suddenly reach 150 mph or more.
The other weather oddity to pop up during the storms was a possible tornado, which nearly touched down along I-75 in Cobb County.
In cellphone video posted to Twitter, a loose funnel is seen moving across the interstate near Cumberland Boulevard. Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said radar data shows there was a possible tornado in that area.
Sections of DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties amassed several inches of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for the three counties until Monday night. The warning is set to expire at 10:45 p.m.
The warnings in DeKalb and Fulton counties were prompted by several inches of rain that fell along Nancy Creek, while heavy rain near Crooked Creek prompted Gwinnett’s inclusion, the NWS said.
The storm system that affected metro Atlanta is not related to Tropical Storm Isaias, which is moving along the Georgia coast toward the Carolinas, according to Channel 2. The storm was downgraded from a hurricane over the weekend.
Tuesday’s rain chance for metro Atlanta will drop to 30% before it falls another 10% for the remainder of the week, according to the latest forecast by Channel 2. However, temperatures will slowly begin to creep back toward the mid-90s by the weekend.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
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