More tornadoes, winds expected

Heavy storms could cause outages, damage in metro Atlanta.

North Georgia might not have seen the worst of this week’s severe weather, Channel 2 Action News reported. Another round of storms could return with a vengeance today, according to forecasts.

As many as 20 tornadoes touched down in Georgia on Monday as part of a storm system that left thousands in the dark and ripped the roof off a fire station, the National Weather Service said Tuesday.

Albany State University announced Tuesday that its campuses would be closed today in anticipation of severe weather conditions.

Metro Atlanta faces a moderate risk of tornadoes, widespread damaging wind gusts, flash flooding and large destructive hail, Channel 2 meteorologists said.

While moderate may not sound alarming, meteorologists said don’t be fooled. Only one other designation — high — poses a greater risk, according to the National Weather Service.

Moderate “is not common,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. She said she has never seen a moderate risk over metro Atlanta in her more than 30 years with Channel 2. “I have seen them in South Georgia, but not widespread over metro Atlanta,” Minton said.

“Be prepared for power outages,” Channel 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said.

“Be prepared for the worst. We will have tornadoes and damaging winds. There will be damage.”

Parts of North Georgia were still cleaning up and without power on Tuesday following Monday’s severe storms.

But today’s storms could result in more widespread damage than Monday’s system, meteorologists said.

That means even more outages are likely as the storms move in, possibly before sunrise, Minton said.

The first round of severe weather is expected to hit metro Atlanta about 8 a.m. today, according to Channel 2. “There will be waves of severe storms all day,” Minton said. “It should end late Wednesday night to just after midnight Thursday morning.”

Monday’s strong winds left a gaping hole in Anthem Automobile in Buckhead, Channel 2 Action News reported. The auto shop, near the intersection of Piedmont Road and Lakeshore Drive, will remain closed for a few days.

In downtown Atlanta, a tree fell on a van at Peachtree and Third streets; in Henry County, an oak tree crashed into a home on Bunnie Trail; and in Carrollton, the roof of Firehouse No. 22 on Brumbelow Road was torn off, according to Channel 2.

The storm system also prevented flights from coming in or going out for about an hour at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

HENRY TAYLOR / HENRY.TAYLOR@AJC.COM A crew from the Atlanta Forestry Division removes a tree that fell on top of a van at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Third Street.