Tornado Warning, After tornado touches down in Atlanta area and severe weather barrels through the Southeast US: One man is dead after a tree fell on a car as a tornado touched down in the Atlanta area on Monday. Severe weather threatened more than 100 million people from the southern Plains through the Mid-Atlantic.
Tornado Warning – After tornado touches down in Atlanta area
The man died in Douglasville, Georgia, west of Atlanta. The Douglas County Fire Department responded to reports of a tree on a car with a person inside around 10:36 a.m., according to a news release from county officials.
“When they arrived on the scene, they discovered the driver trapped inside the vehicle with power lines and a tree on the vehicle,” Douglas County communications director Rick Martin said in the release. “Firefighters had to extricate the driver who we are only identifying as a male at this time until next of kin are notified.”
A tornado warning was issued at about 10:30 a.m. and lasted until 11:15 a.m. ET, with about 450,000 people in its potential path, according to the National Weather Service in Atlanta. An EF-1 tornado with 90 mph winds was confirmed in Douglas County, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado was 250 yards wide and on the ground for a mile and a half.
The extent of damage from storms in the area wasn’t clear early Monday afternoon. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tweeted photos of downed trees in her neighborhood in southwest Atlanta, while Dru Ghegan, the owner of Bonded Service Warehouse in Fulton County, shared photos that show the building suffered significant damage.
A tornado watch was in effect until 7 p.m. EDT for east-central Georgia, central South Carolina, and south-central North Carolina. This included Charlotte and Rockingham in North Carolina, Columbia and Greenwood in South Carolina, and Augusta in Georgia. There were several thunderstorm watches, including ones in central Georgia, much of Alabama, and eastern Mississippi, which will last until 9 p.m. ET, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
Severe weather barrels through the Southeast US
A couple of tornadoes are possible with the thunderstorms, in addition to the risk for large hail up to the size of a quarter and isolated wind gusts up to 70 mph, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
The alerts came a day after tornadoes struck at least three cities in Mississippi, causing damage to buildings and knocking out power. The same system that spawned tornadoes over the weekend is still on the move, bringing the threat for severe storms across the Southeast.
In addition, over the Plains, a new system is developing and will spark a separate outbreak of severe weather into the overnight hours.
There is also a severe thunderstorm watch for central Illinois and east-central Missouri, including St Louis. Eastern New Mexico and West Texas are under a severe thunderstorm watch until 9 p.m. CT (10 p.m. ET).
Additionally, a new tornado watch has been issued for southeast Oklahoma and north-central Texas, including Dallas. This watch is in effect until 11 p.m. CT.
