More than 5,600 homes and businesses in Coweta County, Georgia, were left without power on Saturday afternoon as severe weather swept through west central
parts of the state and a tornado watch remained in effect. Live outage data updated around midday showed 5,638 customers without electricity in Coweta County, about eight per cent of the county’s nearly 70,000 tracked customers. At the time, Coweta recorded the highest number of power outages of any county in Georgia. Coweta-Fayette EMC reported the largest number of outages locally, with 3,221 customers affected. Georgia Power recorded the highest proportion of customers without service, at around nine per cent. The US National Weather Service extended Tornado Watch 3 until 14:00 local time on Saturday. In Georgia, the watch covered Coweta, Chattahoochee, Harris, Meriwether, Muscogee and Troup counties, including the cities of Newnan, Columbus, Fort Benning, Manchester, Pine Mountain and West Point. Utility crews were assessing storm-related damage and working to restore power, though no estimated restoration times were immediately available. A flood watch remained in force through the evening across much of north and central Georgia, as multiple rounds of rain continued to move through the region. Many areas have already received around two inches of rainfall, with further rain expected before conditions improve, according to the FOX 5 Storm Team. Additional downpours were forecast over the next eight to 12 hours, increasing the risk of flooding. As a cold front moves east, rainfall is expected to become more organised and briefly intensify. Much of Georgia remains under a Level 1, or marginal, risk for severe weather, with parts of the state under a Level 2, or slight, risk. Forecasters said the greatest concern would be from late morning through mid-afternoon, when heavy rain and a small number of strong to severe thunderstorms could affect the metro area. The front is expected to reach Atlanta around midday and clear the city by about 17:00, with the strongest storms likely between 13:00 and 17:00. While widespread severe weather is not anticipated, isolated damaging wind gusts and heavy downpours remain possible, particularly in areas that have already seen significant rainfall.
