At least one person was killed Sunday as severe storms brought heavy winds and rain across metro Atlanta, leaving thousands without power and placing medical staff on high alert at the Clayton County Jail.
Crews were called around 5 a.m. after a tree fell on a home in the 700 block of Matilda Place in northwest Atlanta, according to spokesperson Anare Holmes. The uprooted tree had collapsed on a man lying in his bed. The victim, who was not publicly identified, died at the scene from his injuries, officials said.
Those heavy winds, expected to reach up to 35 mph in some metro Atlanta areas, also caused a tree to fall on power lines at the Clayton jail, which went dark for several hours outside of a few illuminated exit signs, officials said.
Medical staff at the facility were on high alert due to the outage that had impacted inmates on breathing machines and other critical medical equipment, according to Sheriff Levon Allen. At about 10 a.m., Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft and sheriff’s deputies both confirmed the power was restored.
According to Allen, the outage affected refrigerators inside the kitchen along with internet service, computers and phone lines. The facility has emergency power generation, but the sheriff had said it was unclear “what systems, if any” were operating at the time of the outage.
“The safety and welfare of inmates and staff remains our top priority,” Allen said.
Those heavy winds also toppled the Iron Horse statue in Greene County, photos showed. Some Atlanta roads also have standing water.
There were several reports of trees blocking roadways in Cobb County, with impacted areas including Acworth Due West Road to Woodlawn Road. In Dunwoody, Mount Vernon Road at Mount Vernon Place was impassible, officials said. The Troup County Sheriff’s Office said there were trees down all over the county that were causing accidents. In Johns Creek, police said a tree caused a string of power lines to fall onto Old Alabama Road.
Georgia Power, the state’s largest utility, reported more than 107,000 customers were without power as of about 10:30 a.m. Georgia EMC, which represents the state’s electrical cooperatives, reported more than 68,000 customers were without power, down from 108,000 a few hours earlier.
By the late morning, the storms were quickly pushed toward the East Coast. The afternoon will see some clouds and northwesterly winds that will blow in colder air behind this system, according to Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Brad Nitz.
“That’s going to bring us falling temperatures as we head through the afternoon,” Nitz said.
On Monday morning, those temperatures will drop into the upper 20s and will stay cool despite some afternoon sunshine. Tuesday will be warmer with a high of 57 degrees but temperatures will drop the remainder of the week.
The rain is projected to return Wednesday when temperatures will peak at 47 degrees in metro Atlanta, Nitz said. Thursday and Friday are expected to be slightly cooler.
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