Confirmed tornadoes touched down as strong storms moved through metro in past 24 hours

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has confirmed that two tornadoes touched down as strong storms moved through the area Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, one in Coweta County and another in Heard County.

Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz tracked the storms live all night and this morning with Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 storm touched down Tuesday evening in the area of Sullivan Road near Newnan.

Channel 2′s Candace McCowan took us live to the scene Tuesday night during WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. where she found the road closed multiple trees had been toppled across it.

Like everyone in Newnan, Brian Thomas Moose said he’s learned when it’s time to take cover. He told McCowan that following the storms, he came outside to find trees down all across the gold course behind his home.

“My back door started slamming open and shut, I went to look out the window and I could see the wind kind of twirling,” he said. “My wife Ellen said get away from there and I did, then it was over in about 15, 20 seconds.”

Coweta County Fire Chief Robby Flanagan said despite all the downed trees -- even one landing on an occupied car -- no one was injured.

The National Weather Service also confirmed a tornado occurred in northern Heard County Wednesday morning.

Channel 2′s Tom Regan went to the area and found the tornado ripped a mobile home apart along Roosterville Road.

Next door neighbors told Regan they were left shaken knowing this could have happened to their home.

“My mind was blown,” Jaden Williamson said. “It was just straight up banging and then, like, a loud gush of wind.”

Williamson said he and his family were woken up by the storm around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Malorie Chatman said she could feel the storm.

“Just a whirling sound of pressure that we felt in the house, and we just knew something was wrong, and you just said, ‘Get in the closet. Get in the closet,” Chatman said.

The tornado blew apart a home and damaged or destroyed other structures in area, including a giant steel metal barn.

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“I think it was on the ground three or four times, and then it just disappeared,” Heard County Deputy Fire Chief Robert Bell said.

Severe Weather Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Brad Nitz first spotted the twister early Wednesday morning while he was tracking the storm on Channel 2 Action News This Morning.

“There’s a little debris that’s been picked up by the strong winds and a possible weak tornado touching down there,” Nitz said as the storm appeared on the radar.

The hop-scotching tornado brought down trees and toppled power lines across the area.

“It felt like the window was coming and everything was beating up against the windows, and I could hear stuff on our back pool deck flinging everywhere and I heard my cat scream,” neighbor Nicole Rice said.

Despite all the destruction, no one was hurt.

“We are just lucky it came in when it did,” Bell said.

“I’m just so thankful our house and our neighbors, everyone, is just safe,” Chatman said.

Bell told Regan that the county’s tornado sirens weren’t triggered because initially the National Weather Service had only issued a severe thunderstorm warning. It upgraded the warnings as the system was moving through, but by then, the chief said, the twister had already hit.

Officials with the National Weather Service said they plan to survey the damage Thursday morning.

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