High winds swept through the south end of Clarkesville Friday morning leaving a trail of damage, debris and downed power lines. Clarkesville Fire Chief Jerry Palmer confirms the damage was caused by a microburst and straight line winds that accompanied a severe thunderstorm. The storm caused minor damage. Palmer says no one was injured.
Sgt. Ryan Ledford with the Clarkesville Police Department says the first damage report was called in around 8:39 a.m. Witnesses say it looked like a mini tornado with rotating winds but the National Weather Service (NWS) in Greenville did not detect rotation on its radar. According to Now Habersham’s weather man Tyler Penland, NWS radar in Greenville-Spartanburg indicated wind speeds of around 40mph with the storm cell. He says that’s, “Sub-severe but certainly strong.”
The storm tore off part of the roof on the old Ingles grocery store in Clarkesville and toppled trees along Highway 197 South, Railroad Avenue, Dennis, Ellison and East Louise Streets.
At least three trees fell onto a power line on East Louise just south of Rocky Branch Road. The road was closed for several hours as Georgia Power crews worked to clear the lines and restore power to dozens of homes and businesses in the area.
As of 12:45 p.m. Friday, power was restored to all but a handful of Georgia Power and HEMC customers in Habersham County whose electricity was knocked out by the storm.
Employees at work who couldn’t work without power stepped outside for a brief break in the calm after the storm. The Clarkesville Post Office was open but only customers with exact change could buy anything. Computerized cash registers and credit card readers were all down.
Post Office supervisor Charles Clay says Friday’s mail delivery was delayed by the outage. The Post Office will be closed Saturday for Independence Day. Clay says “Hopefully (we can) resume normal delivery on Monday.”
Meanwhile, pack your umbrella and stay alert for the possibility of more severe weather. The National Weather Service warns of the possibility of more torrential rain, high winds and hail through this evening.
The July 4th forecast looks calmer but still rainy for much of Northeast Georgia.
Independence Day weekend forecast
Damage, Debris and Downed Power Lines
