Crews clean up after damaging storms across metro

Several rounds of storms moved through north Georgia Wednesday, leaving behind damage and flooding across the state.

[Minute-by-minute: Strong storms move through north Georgia]

Strong storms with heavy rain and hail sparked tornado warnings and downed several trees and power lines across north Georgia Wednesday morning, early afternoon and night.

The down trees and power lines blocked firefighters from rescuing people trapped in houses in Walton County.

"Another cell was coming through and this house behind us was under construction so we had to bust open one of the windows and get inside because we had lightning coming down all around us, Walton County Fire Department Battalion Chief David Jarrett said.

[PHOTOS: Strong storms cause damage across north Georgia]

Parts of the metro area saw several inches of rain throughout the day.

Six inches of rain was measured in Carroll County.

There were 4.2 inches of rain at the Atlanta airport, which is the second-highest  April rainfall total.

A wind advisory is in effect for metro Atlanta until 10 p.m. Thursday.

A ground-stop caused travelers to get stuck at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport into Thursday morning.

Channel 2 Action News saw dozens of travelers sleeping at the airport Thursday, even in the bathrooms.

Several counties in metro Atlanta were under a tornado warning Wednesday morning until about 9 a.m.

The Storm Prediction Center had all of north Georgia in a moderate risk for a severe storms, which is the second-highest risk level.

There was a tornado watch for most of the metro area until 11 p.m.

[READ: Understanding severe thunderstorm risk categories]

"This is going to be a dangerous day with severe storms," Severe Weather Team 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said Wednesday morning.

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Damage

The strong storms caused damage across north Georgia.

[County-by-county: Severe storms cause damage across metro Atlanta]

Firefighters say lightning hit a house in Forsyth County, causing it to catch fire Wednesday morning. A man was home at the time it happened.

Channel 2's Mike Petchenik was at the scene for updates on Channel 2 Action News.

Lightning hit a tree outside a house in Lilburn, setting the house on fire. Firefighters had trouble getting a 90-year-old woman from the house.

The storms downed trees and powerlines across the area.

The heavy downpours also led to flooding in some areas.

Looking ahead

There is going to be a noticeable change in temperatures as the cold front moves through, dropping temperatures into the mid to high 50s on Thursday and Friday.

By the weekend, temperatures will rebound a bit, with plenty of sun and 74 by Sunday.

Monday's storms 

Severe weather also moved through on Monday, causing a ground stop at Atlanta's airport and damage in parts of the state.

Channel 2's Tom Regan was in Carrollton, where the National Weather Service confirmed Tuesday that an EF-1 tornado slammed the area on Monday, with winds of 90 mph knocking down trees, damaging houses and blowing the roof off a fire station.

As many as 20 tornadoes touched down in Georgia on Monday, NWS told Regan.

Cox Media Group