Georgia Tornadoes: 3 Radar-Confirmed Tornadoes in Atlanta Metro

ATLANTA, GA — Communities across central Georgia were cleaning up Wednesday night after fierce storms downed trees, snapped power lines and caused three tornadoes. Images shared on social media showed apparent storm damage from the storm and what appeared to be a large tornado cloud.

After weeks of virtually no rain at all, metro Atlanta found itself under a tornado watch early Wednesday afternoon as storms rolled through the area. At least five people were killed as a line of storms moved through Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.

Weather radar has confirmed three tornadoes that tore through the area: one through Carroll and Paulding counties, one through Cobb and Fulton counties and one in north Fulton and Forsyth counties.

At 3:40 p.m., Georgia Power was reporting that nearly 15,000 customers were without power. As the storms passed, the power company was warning residents of the area to beware of downed power lines that could be hidden in debris or standing water. By 6 p.m., there was still more than 3,700 without power. As of 9 p.m., those without power were reduced to under 500.

Concerns began early Wednesday, with hurricane watches for the western end of the Atlanta metro before daybreak. The worst of the storms struck Wednesday afternoon. At 2 p.m., Atlanta Fire and Rescue officials encouraged residents to seek shelter just after 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

One of the storms passed through Buckhead, according to 11Alive.

Actors filming the big-budget "Jumanji" sought shelter together on the set.

As the afternoon wore on, hurricane warnings were declared in a gradually eastward-headed line and tornado touchdowns were reported in spots like downtown Atlanta and south Cobb County.

Throughout the metro area, particularly to the east of Atlanta, school systems were holding students after normal dismissal times so they could stay in a safe place as the storms passed.

There were no immediate reports of severe damage from the storms. In Carroll County, the sheriff's office said there were some trees downed by a reported tornado touchdown, but no other damage.

Wednesday night is expected to bring a 30 percent chance of storms until about 8 p.m., then clear skies.

After that, there is no more rain forecast for the area until Saturday night.

Photo by Leigh Anne Rehkopf. Used by permission via Twitter.