A tornado–kind of like one the one that took Dorothy from her Kansas farm to Oz–touched down in the Atlanta area and severe weather is still threatening some 100 million people from “the southern Plains through the Mid-Atlantic.”
According to CNN, “A tornado warning was issued at about 10:30 a.m. and lasted until 11:15 a.m. ET, with about 450,000 people in its potential path, according to the National Weather Service in Atlanta.”
While the extent of the storm’s damage isn’t clear, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and others on Twitter sent out photos of tornado destruction showing down trees and building that had suffered damage.
From CNN:
The storm that prompted the warning is moving to the eastern metro area and has weakened. A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect until 12 p.m. for parts of central DeKalb and southwestern Gwinnett Counties, including Lawrenceville, Lilburn and Stone Mountain.
Overall, a tornado watch is in effect until 4 p.m. ET for parts of Georgia and Alabama, including Atlanta, Macon and Montgomery, as additional thunderstorms could produce a few tornadoes in this watch area through the afternoon. Hail up of to 1 inch and damaging winds up to 70 mph are also possible with some of these storms.
The alerts came a day after tornadoes struck at least three cities in Mississippi, causing damage to buildings and knocking out power. The same storm system that spawned tornadoes over the weekend is still on the move, bringing the threat for the severe storms across the Southeast on Monday.
The news station notes that while things may have calmed down a bit, “a new system is developing and will spark a separate outbreak of severe weather into the overnight hours.”
Sending thoughts and prayers to those who may be affected by these storms.