Power Outage in Cairo, GA

A tree was blown down onto a power line at Spring Hill Road and Highway 112N.

Several trees and power lines were blown down.

Scattered trees and power lines were blown down.

Scattered power outages occurred in Grady county due to trees blowing onto power lines from thunderstorms associated with the outer bands of Sally.

Power lines were blown down in a yard at 5407 Highway 111.

Broken power poles were reported in Grady county.

A power pole was broken in the Hawthorne area.

Trees and power lines were blown down along Pine Circle SW and 1st Street in Cairo.

A power line was blown down near Hall Road.

Several power lines were blown down north of Cairo. Damage cost was estimated.

Trees and power lines were blown down in the Macedonia Church area. Damage cost was estimated.

Trees and tree limbs were blown down onto power lines resulting in power outages near Farmers Branch Road as well as other scattered areas in Decatur and Grady counties.

Trees and tree limbs were blown down onto power lines resulting in power outages near Farmers Branch Road as well as other scattered areas in Decatur and Grady counties.

Several trees and power lines were blown down in Grady county. Damage was estimated.

Several trees and power lines were blown down in Grady county. Damage was estimated.

Two separate witnesses reported a brief tornado touchdown near Godwin Lane and County Line Road 262. The only damage was to power lines. This tornado was rated EF0.

The tornado touched down southeast of Whigham and traveled northeast, crossing Highway 84 between Whigham and Cairo. The tornado lifted northeast of Cairo. The bulk of the damage was to trees and power lines with some minor damage to a few homes, mainly caused by falling trees. The strongest winds were likely along Providence Road where multiple trees were snapped at various levels. In addition, a partially strapped mobile home was moved from its foundation just north of Cairo. Six people were inside the mobile home, and nobody was injured. This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 90 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

The tornado touched down southeast of Whigham and traveled northeast, crossing Highway 84 between Whigham and Cairo. The tornado lifted northeast of Cairo. The bulk of the damage was to trees and power lines with some minor damage to a few homes, mainly caused by falling trees. The strongest winds were likely along Providence Road where multiple trees were snapped at various levels. In addition, a partially strapped mobile home was moved from its foundation just north of Cairo. Six people were inside the mobile home, and nobody was injured. This tornado was rated EF1 with max winds estimated at 90 mph. Damage cost was estimated.

Several trees and power lines were blown down in the Beachton area.

A large tree was blown down on 4th Ave SE in Cairo near Southside Elementary School. Power was out in the area. Monetary damage was estimated.

Grady county 911 dispatch reported a tree and power line down near Harrells Still. Monetary damage was estimated.

Multiple trees and power lines were blown down across the county. Monetary damage was estimated.

Multiple trees were blown down across Grady county with power outages also reported. Monetary damage was estimated.

Trees and power lines were blown down across the county. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.

Numerous trees and power lines down across portions of southern Grady County. A few homes sustained minor damage from fallen trees.

A tornado touched down near Rawls and Lewis Roads just west of Georgia Highway 93. Damage along Rawls Road was limited to uprooted or snapped trees. One horse trailer was tipped over. The tornado continued eastward and moved a double wide modular home off its foundation on the west side of Holstein Lane. On the east side of Holstein Lane, a large cinder-block building was severely damaged, with the top level of the structure destroyed and lower west- and south-side facing walls collapsed. Three large grain silos south of the building were damaged or destroyed, and two large barns 50 yards to the east were destroyed. The tornado crossed Georgia Highway 93 just north of Lewis Road and plowed through a pine forest along the north side of Lower Cairo Road. Before crossing into Thomas County, over 95 percent of the trees near Plantation Drive adjacent to Lower Cairo Road were snapped. According to the Grady County Emergency Management Agency, a total of 15 homes were damaged, with about 300 residents without power.

A tornado touched down near Rawls and Lewis Roads just west of Georgia Highway 93. Damage along Rawls Road was limited to uprooted or snapped trees. One horse trailer was tipped over. The tornado continued eastward and moved a double wide modular home off its foundation on the west side of Holstein Lane. On the east side of Holstein Lane, a large cinder-block building was severely damaged, with the top level of the structure destroyed and lower west- and south-side facing walls collapsed. Three large grain silos south of the building were damaged or destroyed, and two large barns 50 yards to the east were destroyed. The tornado crossed Georgia Highway 93 just north of Lewis Road and plowed through a pine forest along the north side of Lower Cairo Road. Before crossing into Thomas County, over 95 percent of the trees near Plantation Drive adjacent to Lower Cairo Road were snapped. According to the Grady County Emergency Management Agency, a total of 15 homes were damaged, with about 300 residents without power.

Rainfall from Fay varied between 15 and 24 inches. Numerous trees and power lines were down throughout the county. Power outages affected 10,000 residents, with 3,000 of those in Cairo. Many county roads were washed out by flood waters. Two dams were breached in Cairo, which destroyed a residential pumpkin patch and mayhaw orchard. A helicopter from Fort Rucker was dispatched to the Thomas-Grady line to rescue a vehicle that washed into Barnett's Creek. Sixteen roads were closed. More than 700 miles of roads were affected by flooding and debris. Many local homes and businesses in Cairo suffered leaks and water damage. Wind and flooding damaged 23 mobile homes and destroyed another; seven single family homes sustained minor damage and 25 were severely damaged. Five public facilities sustained minor damage. Agricultural losses included 50 percent of pecan crops, 25-45 percent of corn crops, and less than 25 percent of cotton crops. A 12-year-old Cairo boy lost his life when he was swept away by flood waters while playing near a drainage ditch. A man trying to save the boy was swept through the dam and nearly drowned. He was in stable condition at a local hospital. A state of emergency was declared by the Governor.

Several trees and power lines were toppled just south of Meridian Road.

Several trees and power lines were down near Reno.

Numerous trees and power lines were down across the eastern portion of the county.

Numerous trees and power lines were down across the eastern portion of the county.

The Grady County Sheriff reported a few downed trees and power lines near Nickleville and Calvary.

A microburst blew down numerous trees and some power lines from near the intersection of Robert Willis and Harper Roads east to Brumbley Creek (north of State Road 188). One home on Harper Road lost part of its roof. Damage survey conducted by the NWS Tallahassee WCM.

Straight-line winds whipped through the Cairo Country Club area, uprooting and snapping off pine trees, and downing power lines. In the new neighborhood of Hawthorne Trails, the winds destroyed 60 percent of the wood trusses of a frame house. The storm then moved across Lake Jenna and dissipated before reaching Sutton Mill Road NW. About 35 homes in the country club area were without power for nearly four hours. Damage to homes was minimal. Reported by the Grady County EMA.

Downed trees on power lines reported by the Grady County EMA.

Downed trees and power lines reported by the Grady County EMA.

A tornado briefly touched down on Ridge Road, just south of the Grady-Mitchell county line. It damaged two homes, and knocked down trees and power lines. The tornado moved northeast into southern Mitchell County. Reported by the Grady County EMA.

Numerous downed trees and power lines. Reported by Grady County 911.

Numerous trees and power lines down. Reported by the Grady County EMA.

A strong tornado tore through northern Grady County, then crossed into extreme northwest Thomas County. Fifteen homes were destroyed and numerous damaged. Fifteen persons were injured, mostly from flying debris. Six fatalities were confirmed by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency: four deaths in mobile homes and two in a woodframe home. Scores of pecan trees were uprooted, pine trees snapped and power lines toppled. Farmers suffered major losses to irrigation equipment, trailers and shelters. Eight chicken houses were flattened, killing a half million chickens. Grady County was declared a federal disaster area. Reported by the Grady County EMA.

A line of strong to briefly severe storms moved across portions of southwest Georgia on the afternoon of August 1st with several reports of trees and power lines blown down.

Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms occurred across the area. As is typical with summer storms in this part of the country, some of the storms were marginally severe with impacts to trees and power lines.

A strong upper level trough and associated surface cold front moved through the area during the early morning hours of January 11th. Limited instability ahead of the front kept most storms below severe limits. However, several hours prior to the frontal passage and arrival of convection, numerous trees and power lines were blown down across portions of Decatur and Grady counties. There was no convection in the area. The area was located along the northern edge of a weakening area of stratiform rain. The KTLH radar did show some enhanced velocities of 40-50 knots in that area around 2000-2500 ft, but otherwise there was no indication to the possibility of strong winds in the area prior to the reports being received. The KTAE sounding taken about 90 minutes prior to the reports did not observe any strong winds in the low levels. One possible explanation given for these strong winds was water loading associated with the collapsing area of precipitation leading to enhanced downward momentum transport and gusty winds, but it is unclear exactly what caused these strong winds.