Strong storms that moved through north Georgia Tuesday night trigged tornadoes, heavy winds, and lightning. The storm caused damage in Pickens County. (Credit: FOX 5 Atlanta)
PICKENS COUNTY, Ga. - The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-0 tornado briefly touched down in Pickens County late Tuesday night, while strong storms caused heavy wind and rain across north Georgia.
What we know:
An EF-0 tornado with max winds between 80 and 85 miles per hour touched down in Pickens County on Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service stated it is still working on determining the path length.
NWS officials noted that the tornado was likely not always fully in contact with the ground along its full path, leaving sporadic damage.
Damage was mostly along some side streets just off East Price Creek Road in Jasper.
The FOX 5 Storm Team tracked a radar indicated rotation at Sequoyah Lake, or near Jasper, moving southeast at 15 miles per hour, just around 10:29 p.m.
The tornado was part of strong storms that came from a cold front that pushed through North Georgia on Tuesday evening, bringing heavy downpours, frequent lightning, and gusty winds primarily to the mountains and eastern metro Atlanta.
Pickens County was one of the hardest-hit areas during the storm. Emergency management officials reported that more than 5,000 people were without power. Jasper's historic marble monument was struck by lightning, according to Pickens County Emergency Management. The monument was originally erected on Mount Oglethorpe in 1930 before being relocated to downtown Jasper.
What we don't know:
It's unclear the exact path the tornado took at this time.
NWS officials have said the information given is preliminary and can change at any time.
Officials did not detail if any specific structures or items were damaged during the tornado.
The Source: The information in this story came from the National Weather Service and the FOX 5 Storm Team.