MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The National Weather Service has confirmed that tornadoes were responsible for damage to trees and buildings during storms over the weekend.
The weather service said that its damage surveys are ongoing, but that it's already confirmed two tornado paths carved during Sunday's storms.
It estimates that both tornadoes were EF-1 twisters, among the weakest on the Enhanced Fujita scale of tornado strength.
The weather service said one tornado traveled more than four miles, stripping the roof from a metal building and tossing several roof-top air conditioning units at a shopping mall in Russell County. That tornado also damaged several homes as it crossed two subdivisions before reaching the Alabama-Georgia line.
Forecasters said another EF-1 tornado path was found in another part of Russell County, where it crossed over mostly unpopulated and waterlogged land.
The Chattanooga area also received several inches of rain from the thunderstorms that plagued the city over the weekend. So far in the month of April, 8.34 inches of rain have been recorded, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist Andrew Pritchett in the Morristown, Tenn., office.
"[Chattanooga has had] almost six inches more rain than normal for April, which is pretty remarkable," Pritchett said, joking that he was surprised Chattanooga did not float away.
A metal building used by All-Pro and located behind Economy Honda is seen upside-down in a stormwater retention pond Monday, Aug. 20, 2015, in Chattanooga after several rounds of storms on Sunday and Monday morning.The forecast for the next couple days looks pretty dry, Pritchett said. But he warned rain may return to the Scenic City Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
The weather service issued a tornado warning Monday afternoon in parts of north Georgia, and forecasters warned parts of Madison, Banks and Jackson counties that golf ball-sized hail could be anticipated.
Over the weekend a woman died in the metro-Atlanta area after a tree toppled onto her house, pinning her inside, according to authorities. The woman, Patricia Pusha, was a science teacher at McNair Middle School, which is located in DeKalb County.
On Monday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced that President Barack Obama approved a federal disaster declaration for 15 counties that bore the brunt of ice and snow in mid-February. The winter weather caused 225,000 households to lose power and also rendered many roads impassable, causing the governor to issue a state of emergency for the counties.
Jim Butterworth, Director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security, said in a written statement that the hard work of the entire state team was appreciated, and that their efforts kept residents safe.
"This federal assistance will be of great help to these 15 counties that incurred response and recovery costs associated with the winter storm," Butterworth said.
Staff writer Kendi Anderson contributed to this story.