The National Weather Service in Greenville says the storm system that caused widespread damage in Clarkesville Monday evening was not a tornado, but rather, a microburst fueled by thunderstorms ahead of a strong summer cold front.
Meteorologist Lauren Visin says, “We have no reason to suspect a tornado. We’ve reviewed all the radar data and in order for there to be a tornado there must be rotation. We didn’t see that on the radar.” She estimates winds during the storm reached 60-70 mph. It left a wide path of destruction stretching east for several miles from Highway 17 at 115 up Historic 441.
The storm cut through the playground at Clarkesville Elementary School but there was no apparent damage to the school. There was visible damage at nearby Habersham EMC and to houses and yards along Beaver Dam, Rennie Hames, Gastley and New Liberty Roads. Homes and businesses along Highways 197 North and Historic 441 also sustained damage.
Emergency Response
The storm started around 5:30 p.m Monday. It didn’t take long before Habersham County E911 Dispatch was overwhelmed with calls and emergency crews began fanning out over the northern end of the county assessing damage and clearing debris.
There were some tense moments at Pitts Park right after the storm swept through when authorities couldn’t find the owner of a damaged and abandoned SUV in the park. Fishing tackle was found nearby and there were concerns someone may have been injured or missing. After about thirty minutes of searching, the owner of the vehicle was located across town at Ingles grocery store. “Once the storm came through they left the area to seek shelter,” says Habersham County Sheriff’s Captain Danny Clouatre.
“We looked outside and there was stuff just going around in circles in the sky.”
Sirens and chainsaws pierced the calm after the storm. Many were breathing heavy sighs of relief.
Fear and tears
15-year old Wayne Higgins, Junior of Mt. Airy was sitting in an SUV with his two young cousins outside the Gulf Convenience Store on Grant Street when the storm hit. The wind was so strong, he says, it picked the vehicle up off the ground. “The driver side lifted up and all of a sudden the other side lifted up,” he recounts, “and then all of a sudden it lifted up about two feet in the air and slammed back down.” At that point Wayne says he grabbed his cousins and started heading for the convenience store door. Struggling to carry both girls in his arms, he says a man from inside the store rushed out and helped get them inside to safety. Higgins says, “It was frightening.”
His cousins, 4-year old Chloey and 10-year old Katlynn Bryson of Mt. Airy agree. Chloey was scared by the rain and the lightning and Katlynn was scared by the flying debris. “It was pretty scary,” she says, “like the Gulf sign almost hit the window shield and I was like up front, so, I would not stop screaming. I was shaking a lot.”
Wayne’s grandmother Elizabeth Higgins was convinced what she saw was a tornado. “We looked outside and there was stuff just going around in circles in the sky.”
The storm knocked out power to hundreds of homes and businesses in Clarkesville and other parts of the county.
The Habersham County Board of Education met in the dark while, across town, Hawg Wild BBQ once again had to shut its doors. The restaurant on Highway 441 – which just reopened Friday after a fire – had to close because of the power outage. Management says there were customers inside when the storm hit. Employees rushed to move them away from the windows. Everyone safely weathered the storm; the only damage inside was a shattered picture that fell of the wall. Outside, it was a different story. Debris and damage littered the lot. Trees fell on top of the restaurant’s storage shed and demolished a gazebo in the backyard.
Next door to the restaurant at Old Clarkesville Mill, 78 kids waited out the storm inside the county’s gymnastics gym. Carol Pence’s daughter was among them.
Pence says she was in the parking lot outside the gym when she heard the “customary train noise” often associated with tornadoes. “When I turned around there were pieces of tin flying off the building and flying toward me and then the sign came flying off and I ran back to the gym.” Pence says they put the kids on lockdown. “In a minute forty-eight seconds we had all the children against the back wall and covered with mats, all of them crying of course but, other than that, it was good.”
Digging out from the storm
After the storm passed, Pence spent the rest of her Monday evening helping friend’s dig out from under the mess. She was one of several people helping outside the home of David and Paula Wonders. The drive to the Wonder’s west Clarkesville home was blocked by fallen trees. A large tree landed on top of their house. “It got the corner of my house and covered the road with trees but, we’re digging out,” David Wonders says. Despite the damage, he’s thankful. “We were all at work. Nobody was home and the kids were still being picked up from school so we were blessed in that way.”
Storm clean up will likely take weeks, if not months, as property owners wait on insurance claims and in-demand tree cutters and construction crews to clear debris and repair damage.
As of late Monday, the NWS was still gathering information about the storm system but said it appeared Habersham County was the hardest hit. There were also reports of damage in Elbert and Hart Counties.
Clarkesville Storm Damage
August 10, 2015
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For more photos of the storm’s aftermath, visit https://www.facebook.com/nowhabersham
