Tornado touchdown in southwest Atlanta

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A survey team with the National Weather Service is expected to be out Thursday trying to determine if a tornado was responsible for several downed trees and a damage in a southwest Atlanta neighborhood.

It happened around 6:35 p.m. Wednesday. The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for Fulton, Cobb, and Douglas counties. FOX 5 Storm Team Chief Meteorologist David Chandley, who was tracking the cell, said there was a debris signature picked up by FOX 5 Live VIPIR.

The damage can be seen in the Capitol View neighborhood starting near the intersection of Dill Avenue and Fairbanks Street. A massive tree came down across the road and down several power lines. The tree struck a transformer causing a fire in the street. About 700 customers were knocked off the grid as a result.

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Just two blocks west, a similar scene and another tree down.

Less than a mile away, a tree came crashing down in a front yard, narrowly missing a home.

Around the corner, along Avon Avenue, another tree fell, but this time blocked traffic in the area. The Atlanta Parks Department said they will clear the tree once the sun comes up Thursday morning.

An area resident spoke with FOX 5’s George Franco about the storm.

“When I got home it was just drizzling a little bit and then I heard the wind pick up and then I heard it pick up a lot and took a look outside and saw the wind shear going to the right. And then a couple of minutes left it was going to the left and I saw a few trash cans flying in the air,” said resident Rodney Davis.

The National Weather Service said an EF-0 with winds of between 75 and 80 mph roared through the neighborhood. The tornado was about 100 yards wide and traveled just a little more than a mile.

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