Power Outage in Milledgeville, GA

Public report and photo of a tree down on power lines with a transformer on fire downtown Milledgeville.

Report of multiple trees and powerlines down just north of Milledgeville.

Report of 10 power lines and 20 trees down across Milledgeville.

The Baldwin County Emergency Manager reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across the northeast portion of the county from near Meriwether, across Milledgeville through east of Milledgeville.

The Baldwin County Emergency Manager reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across the northeast portion of the county from near Meriwether, across Milledgeville through east of Milledgeville.

The Baldwin County 911 center reported several trees and power lines blown down along Jesse Scott Road.

A National Weather Service survey consisting of an analysis of measured wind data, along with reports from Emergency Managers and various other local, state and federal officials, found that tropical storm conditions occurred in the county. There were numerous reports of trees and power lines blown down. Wind speeds were estimated between 30 and 40 mph.

The media reported many trees and power lines blown down across the county. Parts of the county were without electricity for varying periods of time. A wind gust of 31 mph was measured in Milledgeville. Radar estimated between 2 and 4 inches of rain fell across the county with 2.97 inches measured in Milledgeville. No injuries were reported.

A report was received over social media of power lines blown down on JM Walker Road.

A local newspaper reported several trees and power lines blown down across the northern portion of the county.

The Baldwin County Emergency Manager reported several trees and powerlines blown down across Southern Baldwin County from Coopers to Pancras.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported a tree blown down on McCuller Weaver Road. The tree fell on a power line.

A significant winter storm impacted north and portions of central Georgia on Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th. For areas south of the Atlanta Metropolitan area and into central Georgia, the event began Wednesday morning the 12th. Rain mixed with and changed over to freezing rain through the morning hours, resulting in catastrophic ice accretions of a half to one inch of ice, with localized higher amounts, especially along the Interstate 20 corridor. Thousands of trees were downed and widespread power outages were reported, with some customers without power for days. The event ended as a round of light snow Wednesday evening.

The Milledgeville Fire Department reported numerous trees down near the Hardwick area. Power outages were reported as well.

The Bibb County 911 Center reported that some power lines were down on Ayers Road two miles northwest of Macon. While there were rain showers in the area at the time and severe thunderstorms in counties just to the northwest shortly thereafter, this damage was caused by strong gradient winds associated with strong upper dynamics.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that multiple trees and power lines were down in the northeast part of the county, northeast of Milledgeville. That damage occurred as an area of moderate to heavy rain was moving by to the east and southeast of the area and thus was associated with strong gradient winds and strong upper-level atmospheric dynamics rather than from thunderstorm winds.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that from six to nine trees were blown down, scattered about the county. Trees were down along Carr Station Road, Highway 243, J.F. Hall Road, and Highway 212 near Meriwether. The Union Recorder of Milledgeville reported that several of these trees fell on power lines, resulting in power outages to about 6000 customers in the area.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that a tree was blown down onto a power line along Gordon Highway in southeast Baldwin county.

A damage survey conducted by the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Peachtree City, Georgia along with information received from reports by the Baldwin County Emergency Management Director, the public, and the media, indicated that straight-line winds up to 80 mph affected the Milledgeville area. The worst damage occurred within in an area from 3.5 miles northwest of the city to 1.0 mile north of the city. Within this area, approximately 150 trees were down. Many power lines were also down as a result of fallen trees. Nearly the entire area was without power, some areas over a day. The majority of the damage occurred along Little Road northwest of Milledgeville where up to 100 trees were down and along North Jefferson Street, one mile north of downtown Milledgeville, where at least 50 trees were down.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that at least a dozen trees and several power lines were down scattered about the county.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that at least a dozen trees and several power lines were down scattered about the county.

The Union Recorder of Milledgeville reported that several trees and power lines were down in the area. Several trees were down on roads and power lines. The public reported that thunderstorm winds blew down two large pine trees causing damage to a fence and destroying a new trampoline about six miles west-southwest of Milledgeville. Approximately 1500 people in the Milledgeville area were without power during the height of the storm.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that several structural fires were started within Milledgeville as a result of lightning strikes. In addition, two power lines were also down as a result of lightning strikes.

The Union Recorder of Milledgeville reported that strong winds blew down a number of trees and power lines across the county. At least 5300 people in the county were left without power during the event.

The Baldwin County 911 Center reported that a number of trees and power lines were down in the area.

The Baldwin County Emergency Management Director reported that three to four trees and one power line were down in the eastern portion of the county.

The Union Recorder of Milledgeville reported that a strong thunderstorm blew down several trees and caused damage to a boat in the far northern part of the county. Three large trees were blown down on at private residences in the Harbour Point area off Georgia Highway 212 in northwest Baldwin county on Lake Sinclair. A pontoon boat at one of these residences sustained minor damage when it was blown over. Three other large trees were down at the Saint Mary Baptist Church, also on Georgia Highway 212. Trees and some power lines were also down in the north central and northeast part of the county near the Baldwin County Airport and off Georgia Highway 22, also known as Sparta Highway. Damage was also reported in this area by the Baldwin County sheriff to a cooking shed when three large trees fell on and damaged the structure. Some hail was also reported in the area, but the exact size was not able to be determined.

The Baldwin county 911 center reported that several trees had been blown down and some power lines were down as well.

The Union Recorder of Milledgeville and the county 911 center reported that trees were blown down across the county. Much of the damage was focused in the Airport Road area. In this area, in addition to a downed power pole and trees, a home's deck and its steps were crushed when a large oak tree was blown down on the structure.

The Union Recorder of Milledgeville reported that strong winds blew down trees throughout the county. Dozens of trees were downed on power lines disrupting power service and others were blocking roads. The strong winds developed on the back side of a dissipating area of rain and thunderstorms to the southeast of the county. Heavy rain during the day had saturated soil allowing weaker trees to be uprooted more easily. Wind speeds were estimated in the 35 to 40 mph range, with some gusts to near 50 mph.

On September 22, around 7 am CDT, tropical storm Helene moved on shore near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The storm tracked northeastward, weakening to a tropical depression as it neared Dothan, Alabama around 1 pm. By 4 pm, the remnants of tropical storm Helene were located just southeast of Columbus, Georgia. The storm began moving quickly northeastward, passing near Macon during the evening and moving out of Georgia near Augusta before midnight. Maximum sustained winds with this storm in Georgia were only 30 mph, with higher gusts. Hence wind damage was minimal. Emergency management directors and local newspapers reported some downed trees and power lines, particularly in Baldwin, Washington, and Bibb counties as the circulation center passed through the area during the late afternoon. Much of this was caused by the strong winds combined with saturated soils weakening the root systems of shallow rooted trees, particularly pines. In Bibb county, numerous trees and power lines were knocked down by the wind and a large metal awning on an old building in downtown Macon was blown down and destroyed. At Sandersville, in Washington county, a large tree limb was blown onto a car, busting out the windshield. There were also several reports of tree limbs down on power lines around Washington county, but no major problems.Rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches were common along and near the path of the storm, with isolated reports over 5 inches. However, flooding was minimal because of a longstanding drought in the region. Some of the heavier rainfall amounts from Middle Georgia associated with the storm included 4.24 inches at Warrenton, 3.41 inches at Washington, 3.27 at Louisville, 3.03 at Lumpkin, 2.73 at Macon, and 2.40 at Butler. Columbus only reported 1.09 inches of rain. Rainfall amounts across north Georgia, including the Atlanta and Athens area, were generally in the 1 to 2 inch range. Streams, rivers, and lakes were easily able to absorb the moisture.

The Baldwin county 911 center reported trees and power lines down.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison, which originated in the Gulf of Mexico near the Texas coast during the first few days of June, brought heavy rain and flooding to many counties in central and east central Georgia from the afternoon of the 11'th through the afternoon of the 13'th. After meandering over southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana for several days and causing major flooding and loss of life in Texas and Louisiana, the Tropical Depression then moved along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and Alabama and into South Georgia on the 11'th. By now, downgraded to just a low pressure area, the remnants then took a turn more to the northeast passing near Macon on the 12'th and near Augusta on the 13'th. While wind was not a problem with this storm, very heavy rain had been a problem from the beginning. Spiral bands of heavy rain and some thunderstorms began affecting east central and middle Georgia during the afternoon of the 11'th, with additional development of heavy rain on the 12'th and 13'th, especially in eastern areas. The heaviest rain fell from the evening of the 12'th through the early morning hours of the 13'th in an area generally bounded by Athens, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Crawfordville, and Lexington. In these areas, 24 rainfall amounts of 5 to 8 inches were common, with 10 inches observed in 24 hours on the Little River five miles southeast of Washington in Wilkes county. Two to three day rainfall totals exceeded 10 inches in several places in this area. The Little River crested at 28.4 feet, exceeding the previous highest stage ever recorded of 26.4 feet. Flooding was also observed on the Oconee River at Milledgeville with a crest of 33.7, two feet above flood stage. Several counties were significantly impacted by the flooding rainfall with many roads and bridges being washed out. Greene county was one of the hardest hit where a bridge was washed out leaving 25 residents of the Lake Oconee Point Royal neighborhood stranded. These residents had to be ferried by Sheriff patrol boat to their homes. Over 20 roads were under water in Greene county alone. Putnam, Baldwin, and Taliaferro counties were also hard hit with numerous secondary roads and even some state highways flooded. Several secondary roads had to be closed, a few of which were even washed out. In Pulaski county, a road in the southwest part of the county was washed out leaving a 10 foot canyon where the road used to be. In Milledgeville, an Animal Hospital had to be evacuated when a nearby creek rising out of its banks threatened to flood the facility. Several rivers, reached or exceeded flood stage, and several flood gates had to be opened at the Lake Sinclair and Lake Oconee dams. There were even some reports of downed trees and power lines in a few places, but this was because of saturated soils, not because of high wind. Governor Roy Barnes declared a "state of emergency" for several counties in the state, including Baldwin, Greene, Peach, Pulaski, Putnam, Taliaferro, and Wilkes. Damage estimates are provided under individual flash flood and urban small stream entries.