A stormy night across Northeast Georgia brought torrential rain, intense lightning, and a series of overnight emergency calls. A lightning strike knocked White County government offices offline, and a house fire in Habersham County left one person with minor burns.
Government systems down
The White County Government Complex on Helen Highway was struck by lightning Tuesday evening, Aug. 11, damaging the facility’s network infrastructure.
As of Wednesday morning, most office phones were unavailable and some computer systems, including internet access, were down. County staff spent much of Wednesday assessing and repairing the damage. They restored service by late afternoon.
The outage did not affect the White County 911 Center, which county officials said remained fully operational.
“We appreciate the public’s patience and understanding as we work to restore normal operations,” county spokesperson Bryce Barrett said during the outage.
Busy night for Habersham emergency crews
As storms moved across the region, Habersham County emergency crews responded to several fire and electrical-related calls early Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Around 1:51 a.m., a 911 caller reported a possible lightning strike at a home on Maple Ridge Drive in Demorest. Fire crews used a thermal imaging camera to inspect the home, but found no flames, smoke or hotspots.
Approximately an hour later, firefighters were dispatched to a report of a residential fire at 490 Waterwheel Court in Cornelia.
Habersham County Emergency Services, Baldwin Fire Department and Lee Arrendale State Prison firefighters responded and found heavy flames burning through the roof at the rear of the home. Firefighters made an aggressive interior attack on the second floor and attic and quickly brought the fire under control, said Habersham County Public Information Officer Ashlyn Brady.
The homeowner suffered minor burns while attempting to extinguish the fire before firefighters arrived. He was treated at the scene and declined further medical attention.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Torrential rain and lightning sweep across region
The overnight calls came as thunderstorms rolled across North Georgia, bringing bursts of torrential rain and near-constant lightning to parts of the region.
Shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday, the National Weather Service warned of heavy rain and frequent lightning across parts of Habersham, Stephens and Rabun counties.
An hour later, Doppler radar was tracking another lightning-packed storm near Demorest, moving southeast at about 15 mph. It swept through areas around Clarkesville, Cornelia, Baldwin, Demorest, Mount Airy and Boydville.
Forecasters warned that the storms could produce intense lightning and rainfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour.
Storms give way to summer heat
While additional thunderstorms remain possible, the weather story is about to shift from storms to heat.
By Thursday, and especially Friday, low- to mid-90s are expected outside the mountains, with upper 80s reaching even into higher elevations. By Friday and Saturday afternoons, heat index values could approach or exceed 100 degrees across a large portion of Northeast Georgia.
Some of the hottest temperatures of the year so far may arrive early next week. A drier front could lower humidity while allowing actual temperatures to climb Monday and Tuesday.
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