(Sautee) – A few trees or tree limbs were blown down Tuesday during a noontime weather system that hit White County.
Bill Kinsland, weather reporter for WRWH Radio, was one of those who had to deal with the downed power lines and power outages until the evening hours. Other areas like downtown Cleveland saw heavy rain, lightning, and hail.
Kinsland said it was phenomenal. The storm was probably a microburst in which a tall column of very cold air came straight over the Blue Ridge Divide and literally collapsed over White County with a huge down rush of cold air causing sudden high winds, a steep temperature drop, and significant rainfall.
“Basically it was the final stage of a big thunderstorm in which the column of cold air is so heavy that it literally collapses, we call that ‘subsidence,’ says Kinsland.
The temperature dropped 21 degrees in one hour at the Kelley Road weather station, 18 degrees in 20 minutes south of Cleveland, and 12 degrees in an hour in Helen.
White County Public Safety Director David Murphy said no major issues were reported as a result of the storm.
