ATLANTA -- The storms that ripped across metro Atlanta Tuesday evening did major damage to about 250 homes and at least some damage to up to 1,000 residences in Cherokee County, according to officials.

A spokesman for the National Weather Service told WSB-TV Channel 2 reporter Ross Cavitt some of the damage was caused by a F1 tornado.

The storms knocked out power to thousands of customers. Some street lights were not operating because of the downed power lines, creating confusion at some intersections.

Georgia Power Co. spokeswoman Lynn Wallace says some 5,700 customers remained without power Wednesday morning. Of that number, 3,800 were in Milledgeville in middle Georgia, with 1,900 customers out in Canton in Cherokee County.

Homeowners in Cherokee, Cobb and Fulton Counties reported trees down on their homes.

All Heard County schools were closed on Wednesday.

The storms late Tuesday afternoon came amid tornado warnings from the National Weather Service, but there was no official confirmation that a twister struck.

There are no reports of injuries.

Robby Westbrook, director of Cherokee County's office of emergency management, issued a statement saying many roads were blocked by fallen trees in an area south of Canton, about 30 miles north of Atlanta.

A command post was set up at Johnson Elementary School and county officials requested fire-rescue aid from neighboring counties.