White County storm damage leads to road closures, power outages

WHITE COUNTY, Ga. - A fierce severe thunderstorm system pounded White County on Tuesday night, packing high winds that knocked out power, brought down trees across five major roads and triggered an emergency tornado warning. 

What we know:

The storm system slammed into White County late Tuesday night, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a tornado warning at 8:38 p.m. due to radar-indicated rotation. 

Emergency officials activated outdoor sirens and sent CodeRed alerts as the storm tracked through the area until roughly 11:30 p.m.

Dispatchers handled 69 emergency 911 calls during the storm's peak between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

Emergency crews worked through the night clearing 19 reports of trees blocking roadways, handling seven downed power line incidents and responding to a tree that crushed a home. 

One weather-related traffic crash was also reported, though officials confirmed no injuries occurred, and no tornado touched down.

Power companies are working to restore electricity across the region. 

Habersham Electric Membership Corporation reported 904 customers without power in White County, while Georgia Power reported 94 outages.

Emergency crews have closed five local roads due to fallen trees:

• Rabun Road near Bean Creek Road
• Poplar Stump Road near Myra Branch Road
• Chimney Mountain Road near 199 Chimney Mountain Road
• Mauldin Road near 767 Mauldin Road
• Claude Sims Road at Shepherd Drive

What we don't know:

Local power companies have not provided a specific timeline for when electricity will be fully restored to all affected residents.

Officials have not yet released an estimate for the total financial damage caused by the severe storm system.