Heavy rain, hail cause downed trees, damage

ATLANTA — Strong storms caused damage throughout metro Atlanta Sunday afternoon.

The downpours brought hail, flash flood concerns and tornado warnings to various areas.

Tornado warnings were issued for Henry, Newton and Greene counties Sunday afternoon. A flash flood warning was issued for Floyd and Chattooga counties after officials' reports of rising rivers and creeks in the affected areas.

Strong storms ripped through Henry County Sunday afternoon. One couple had a giant white oak land on their carport, crushing the roof and totaling their pickup truck.

Kim Harris told Channel 2's Liz Arts that her husband called her and said it was really dark and raining hard at their McDonough home off Airline Road around 3 p.m. Sunday.

Right after her husband called, Harris said the 80-foot tree fell onto their carport.

The Harris family said they went without power for about five hours while crews worked to repair power lines. They said they are working to find out who owned the tree, which fell from a neighboring subdivision.

Georgia Power crews are still working to return power after a tree took down power lines on Connally Drive. The damage cut off power to homes in Atlanta and East Point.

East Point crews were able to repair the broken power pole and restore electricity for customers, but Georgia Power cannot fully restore electricity for the Atlanta homes until the tree is removed.

Viewers submitted photos of golf ball-sized hail in Newton County. Viewers in Troup and Henry counties also sent pictures of pea-sized hail that fell in their neighborhoods.

The storms sent trees falling in Coweta County and Channel 2 Action News crews went to Clayton County, where lightning was blamed for a fire at a woman's home.

The mother and daughter were able to safely evacuate the house on Homewood Drive in Jonesboro.
Adiyah  Zihara, a resident at the property, said she doesn't think she will be able to salvage her belongings.

WSBTV