A suspected tornado ripped part of the roof off a high school in Haralson County and caused other minor damage. Troup County emergency management officials said this morning trees were reported blocking roads at Leisure Lane at Old Chipley Road, Jim Turner Road, Stovall Road near the Meriwether County line and Roanoke Road near Arbor Gardens nursery. The area was under a high wind advisory this morning, active until 2 a.m. Friday, as well as a flood watch set to expire at noon today.
More than 3 inches of rain has fallen here since Wednesday morning and more is predicted before the weather turns colder tonight. Lows tonight are predicted for the mid-30s but precipitation is expected to stop.
“Our peak severe weather season is from March to May but there is potential for severe weather in the later part of the year,” said Buzz Weiss, a spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.
Sean Ryan, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, said bad weather ramps up in the spring because temperatures begin to warm up and there’s a strong jet stream to carry storms. In November and December, as temperatures begin to cool off, the jet stream strengthens again.
Weiss said Georgia is particularly prone to severe weather, with just two counties not having a reported tornado. Glascock and Taliaferro counties, in eastern Georgia, may not have reported tornadoes because they’re sparsely populated, he said. The state itself has had 20 federally declared disasters since 1990, all related to weather.
“Georgia really could have a tornado any time of year,” he said.
Troup County saw a tornado bring damage to the Hines Road area earlier this year. Weiss and Ryan say this area of the state is one of three “roadways” in Georgia where tornadoes and severe weather seem to track.
“There’s a line west of Atlanta, another in east central Georgia and another in northeast Georgia,” Weiss said.
Ryan said the track in this area is due to the fact that strong storms coming from Alabama haven’t hit more stable air near the mountains, which tends to weaken storms.
Weiss said it’s important for families to be prepared for severe weather and other incidents.
“Our enemy is complacency,” he said. “Families need to have a disaster plan.”
The plan should include a disaster kit and members of each family should know where to go in the house in the case of a tornado warning, in a basement or interior room on the lowest level of a home.
Families also should review how to get in touch with each other after the storm is over, especially if it occurs during the day while adults are at work and children are at school or other activities.
Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@la-grangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.
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