Two Monday evening storms brought wind, heavy rain and hail to Decatur County and Southwest Georgia, including Grady and Thomas counties.
A heavy downpour began in Bainbridge at about 5:15 p.m., and a severe thunderstorm warning was issued by the National Weather Service. The first storm lasted about 15-20 minutes, followed by a lull of about 5 minutes, before another storm began at about 5:45 p.m. and a second weather alert was issued.
There were multiple reports of hail and damaging winds in Bainbridge and Decatur County.
The following video was taken by Ryan Shirley at his home in the Lake Douglas area of Bainbridge. It shows heavy rain and chunks of hail falling on a trampoline.
There was also a report of a power transformer blowing on East Shotwell Street, near the Bainbridge-Decatur County YMCA. Another transformer went out on College Road. The damage to the transformers caused a power outage in the surrounding area from about 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Areas affected included East Shotwell Street, College Road, Lake Douglas Road and the Turtle Pond subdivision. There was also a report of a large oak tree falling on Planter Street.
Steve Winburn, director of Bainbridge Public Works, said some of his workers responded to a large tree that was blocking Belcher Lane, near its intersection with Vada Road.
“I had a neighbor tell me they emptied out about 1.5 inches of rain from their rain gauge, that had fallen over about 20 minutes’ time,” said Winburn, who said his unofficial report showed 1.75 inches of rain falling on Bainbridge. The heavy rainfall caused flash flooding on several city streets, including Collier Street, Morningside Drive and part of Broad Street in downtown Bainbridge.
The Decatur County Sheriff’s Office responded to multiple calls of trees falling onto roadways, said Captain Greg McMillan. However, McMillan said he wasn’t aware of any serious damage from the storm. After going through Bainbridge, the storms continued eastward toward Cairo and Thomasville.
Decatur County Public Works responded to three reports of trees blocking roadways on Monday evening. The Public Works crews responded to Holt Road, Jones Road and Alday Road. Alday Road is located south of U.S. 84 East, between Bainbridge city limits and Bainbridge High School. Jones Road and Holt Road are located southeast of the town of Climax in eastern Decatur County.
Decatur County Public Works reported 0.49 inches of rain falling at its headquarters in West Bainbridge on Monday.
Power crews could be seen doing work on U.S. 27 South near Bower Hill on Tuesday morning. However, the crews were putting in some new power lines and their work was not storm-related, according to the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office.
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