An EF1 tornado touched down in southeast Coweta County early Sunday morning, knocking down power poles and trees and damaging at least two homes.
Emergency management officials said no injuries were reported, but the storm left about 150 residents on and around Gordon Road, Tabby Lynch Road, Moore Road and Martin Mill Road without power for a few hours.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 4:13 a.m., and tornado sirens in the area were activated at 4:33 a.m., according to Emergency Management Director Jay Jones.
“It was as the back end of the storm front was coming through,” Jones said. “The end result was that it produced an EF1 tornado that was on the ground briefly.”
Jones said winds from the tornado reached speeds of 90 mph.
“It took out a few power poles, and there were five reported incidents of trees in the roadway,” he said.
E-911 received reports of damage to a home on Tabby Lynch Road, Jones said, and the National Weather Service also discovered damage to a home in the Gordon Oaks subdivision.
The tornado is the first confirmed this year in Coweta County, which ranks in the top 20 of Georgia’s 159 counties for confirmed tornado touchdowns since emergency management officially began tracking numbers in 1959.
For those interested in learning to identify and report weather incidents, a free Skywarn Storm Spotter class will be offered Thursday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. in the main courtroom of the 1912 Coweta County Courthouse in downtown Newnan.
The class is recommended for ages 18 and older, but middle and high school students may attend the class if accompanied by an adult. For more information, contact Jones at 770-254-2650 or
[email protected]
