I live 10 minutes from downtown Atlanta on the southeast side and I don't care what anyone is reporting...that was a damn tornado that touched down this evening.
You know I never saw my neighborhood, Edgewood, ever on the tv and the tv dude saying "get to a low spot in your house". Then hearing the freight train sound. Yeah, doggie and I hid in the closet. It was a pretty scary 3 minutes. No damage to the house. Street lights are still not on. Haven't checked on all the trees in the backyard but they look like they are all standing.
Not sure how long it is going to take for downtown Atlanta to recover from this devastation. They aren't letting anyone go back into the Cotton Mill Lofts in Cabbagetown, a water main broke in the World Congress Center and is flooding the place, all the upper windows are blown out of the SunTrust Bank and everywhere else that has more than 5 floors, the big magnolia trees around Woodruff Park have snapped, and so much more damage.
So far no reports of any human life lost. Thank God for that.
Shirley and company are putting together the master plan over at Fire Station #4 on Edgewood. Wonder if Perdue is going to call downtown Atlanta a Federal disaster area?
It's gonna look worse in the morning light.
UPDATE: 1:18 am - just received a text message from Councilman Kwanza Hall who wants everyone to stay away from downtown Atlanta until they give the "all clear" sign.
UPDATE 2: I can't believe all the damage near the King Center and in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood.
Comments (23)
Really bad out in our neck of the woods too. Possible tornado about 5 miles from Casa da Todd.
This kind of weather - totally not cool.
Everyone ok?
I was thinking of you guys as the bad weather left my area and was traveling up I-20. Glad you guys are o.k.
Damn, glad you're ok nita. I was working in the warehouse, when it hit. Lots of concrete, but that big roof scared me. It didn't come our way though.
Hey guys there is another tornado storm warning for both of ours that expires at 7:30 am.
I only found out because I got freaked while sleeping upstairs and hearing all that thunder and lightening so I turned on the tv.
Either we don't have tornado sirens or they don't work down here in the city.
off to sleep on the couch with the tv on. damn I'm exhausted.
still no streets lights in my neighborhood.
just did my morning light assessment. lots of broken tree limbs from my neighbor's oak tree are on my front yard. A big sucker landed on the hood of my car - no damage though. Have one or more of my neighbors' roof shingles also on my front yard. Somebody lost insulation foam cause its scattered on everyone's lawns. Some of my neighbor's siding fell off.
Wind blew garden supplies across the backyard. It picked up and moved a wheelbarrow that was originally faced down. Neighbor's small tree fell across our dividing fence and is partially in my yard.
Other than that everything is good.
Can't sleep cause the fire trucks are blaring their sirens like crazy.
Dang! We were out with friends in Little Five Points. Hung tight during the first storm, then left in the break between them. Wow! With the car radio on we drove directly into the storm heading to our home in SW Atlanta. Sheesh! Pounding rain, big winds. My SO was so disappointed to not see any hail...
Once we got into the neighborhood all was calm (which was spooky in it's own way). Made it home safe, no damage. Just a very freaked out EarthaKitty.
But, double-dang, the news this morning is amazing! Amazing that there were no deaths or serious injuries.
Nita, girl, you got a shot of Cointreau coming from me! Glad everyone seems to be ok... The photos from Ye Olde Workplace are pretty insane, my cube appears to be untouched but I'm worried about the Starbucks downstairs ;-) Like, I know we need water and all, but this is ridiculous!
Damn, that's amazing how local that this. At Tech dorms, worst we got was a little wind and lots of rain and thunder. When I heard about the Georgia Dome, I was shocked.
Awesome, they are blowing the tornado sirens again!
Yeah, we are preparing to hit the basement soon if the current storm stays on track. I thought I was away from all this crap when I left Kansas...
Metro Atlanta is the new Kansas.
Hope this doesn't continue throughout the entire spring season. Not sure my doggie's heart can take all that excitement.
shit another tornado is predicted to hit downtown in the next 15 minutes.
Me and doggie back in the closet.
Headed your way Smitty. Passing over SW now. The teevee is saying 3.5" hail, but SO says it's much smaller.
P.S. glad we got the roof fixed...
jesus. watching wsbtv and a huge funnel hitting downtown now. this is crazy folks.
stay in your closet nita.
hope all are safe...
PS: Smitty i don't and won't judge you or your dog.
OK that was beyond freaky. Sitting in a closed closet and hearing all that hail hit the windows and the roof. Sounded like 50 elephants were running upstairs in my bedroom.
Front lawn was covered in hail. Just checked the backyard and noticed that there are pieces of insulation and roof shingles in my trees.
My heart rate is slowly getting back to normal.
When did I-20 become tornado alley?
Good grief! Is it safe to come out now? This is getting a little bit ridiculous.
We had golf ball size hail, but no funnel clouds (that we could see anyway). Our peeps out in Walton County were getting the worst of it. Scary stuff...
damn it...family home in SC just got hit by the tornado storms.
Won't be able to tell any damages until in the morning. crapola!
Wow, major damage at the family compound. My aunt has 2 trees in her house. My uncle lost both his car ports (let's not ask why a man needed 2 car ports), Grams lost all the roof shingles in the front of her house. One of our neighbor's, on the same road, boat and car is in my uncle's yard which is 1000 feet away. My cousin's house was damaged pretty bad. My family lost all the pine trees that were in our family park area - about 40-50 pine trees.
It seems that the only house that has no outer damage is my house. I guess it helps being 500 feet from the road. Still waiting for reports on any inside damage.
Folks that live in town still don't have power or phone service.
wow smitty! no one was hurt were they?
No one in my family was hurt. Luckily they were all at a church function when the tornado blasted through the family compound.
No damage to my house - inside or outside. A tornado's path is just strange. My house is literally 150 feet behind my grandma's and aunt's houses and 100 feet to the left of my uncle's house and I'm the only one without damage. Thank God.
Lots of cleanup now on the compound.
even weirder...we have a 400 sq. foot shed (built by yours truly) which sits between my grandma's and uncle's house and it was left untouched. The shed sits next door to my grandma's house.
What a strange tornado.