More than 16,000 without power after Northeast Georgia storms

HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. — More than 16,000 customers were without power across Northeast Georgia late Tuesday after severe thunderstorms swept through the region, downing trees and power lines and prompting a tornado warning which lasted until 9:15 p.m..

At least 16,166 customers served by Georgia Power and three electric membership cooperatives were without electricity as of about 10:35 p.m. Tuesday, July 28.

Habersham County appeared to be among the hardest-hit areas.

Habersham EMC reported 11,109 customers without power across 180 active outages in its service area, which stretches from White County through Habersham and into Stephens County.

The utility said on social media that crews were dispatched after the tornado warning lifted at 9:15 p.m.

Georgia Power reported another 4,207 customers without power across five Northeast Georgia counties. That included 2,527 customers in Habersham County across 118 outages, 564 customers in White County, 508 in Lumpkin County, 386 in Hall County and 222 in Banks County.

Jackson EMC reported 783 customers without power, with 660 of those in Banks County. Hart EMC reported 67 customers without power in Stephens County.

The outages followed a powerful line of thunderstorms that moved through the region Tuesday evening, bringing damaging winds, heavy rain and widespread reports of downed trees.

A tornado warning was issued during the storm, but there were no confirmed reports as of late Tuesday that a tornado had touched down.

Now Georgia Forecaster Tyler Penland said there were numerous reports of downed trees but no reports of damage indicating a confirmed tornado.

“No reports yet. Lots of downed trees but no reports of anything organized,” Penland said.

He cautioned that determining what happened could take time because the storm moved through after dark.

“Info can be very slow after dark though,” Penland said.

Based on radar, Penland said he would be surprised if a tornado reached the ground, though he could not rule out a brief touchdown.

“Based purely on radar I would be surprised if anything made the ground but it was definitely trying and may have briefly,” he said.

Crews were working late Tuesday to assess damage and restore power. The extent of the storm damage was not immediately known, and outage totals could fluctuate as utilities identify additional damage and restore service.