ATLANTA – Weather officials have confirmed that two Atlanta-area sites were touched by tornadoes on Thursday.
The National Weather Service said Friday in a news release that a tornado with winds of 75-85 mph touched down shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday on the north side of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The weather service said it picked up eight to 10 cargo bins weighing up to 500 pounds and tossed several onto a nearby roof. It also snapped two trees and had a path 200 yards long and 50 yards wide.
The weather service also said a tornado with 70 mph winds touched down about 9:40 p.m. Thursday in DeKalb County, where it uprooted some trees.
Local media reported no injuries, but said some flights were delayed at the airport.
Storm slams town near Georgia coast, ripping buildings apart
Debris lies in a parking lot after a possible tornado destroyed an auto parts store and damaged several other buildings in Garden City, Ga., Thursday, May 4, 2017. (Josh Galemore/Savannah Morning News via AP)GARDEN CITY, Ga. – Authorities say a possible tornado demolished one business and damaged several others in a town near Georgia’s coast.
The Savannah Morning News reports the Thursday evening storm ripped the walls and roof from an Advance Auto Parts store in Garden City, leaving insulation, shattered glass and pieces of the building littered across a highway.
City officials said at least five people were hurt, with most of those injuries described as minor.
Chatham County officials tell WTOC-TV that more than a dozen structures in the county were damaged in the storm.
The National Weather Service planned to send a team of employees to the area to survey the damage and determine whether a tornado touched down.
Storms moving across the Carolinas caused damage but no serious injuries were reported.