Hurricane Irma: Trees, Wires Come Down In Sandy Springs

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The outer bands of Tropical Storm Irma are well within Georgia, and the city of Sandy Springs is reporting two homes have been damaged in connection to the massive weather system. Two reports of trees falling onto homes were relayed to the city Monday morning.

One tree fell on a home on Long Island Drive and another came to a rest on a structure along Kingston Drive, city spokesperson Sharon Kraun said. Kraun told Patch that one of the homes was vacant and the family in the other was unharmed.

As of 3 p.m., the following is a list of where trees and wires have been reported down in the city:

• Hammond and Peachtree Dunwoody Road: tree on power lines
• 580 Hammond at Lorrell Terrace: tree on house§ Riverside Drive and Dalrymple: tree on power lines (clear at 1:50 p.m.)
• Northside and Garmon: tree & wires down
• 998 Hammond: tree and power lines - All lanes of Hammond Drive are currently closed from the 400N on ramp to Concourse Parkway.
• 7285 Northgreen Drive: tree /lines down Ga Power notified
• Glenridge Dr near post office (also 5510 Benton Woods). Lines down – GA Power notified - entrance to neighborhood is blocked
• Johnson Ferry closed in both directions at Riverside // Johnson Ferry at Riverside: tree on wires. Wires down on Johnson Ferry // 7169 Riverside Drive: tree/power lines down - detour through Breakwater
• Signal out at Riverside and Johnson Ferry
• 320 Landfall near Breakwater Ridge – reports of arcing wires
• 5400 Roswell Road – transformer blown in back of Round Hill Condos
• 230 Colewood Way - tree down
• 2395 Spalding Drive near Ball Mill - tree down
• Lake Forrest and Stewart - tree blocking northbound lane
• 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road - tree down

The city is reminding residents to view its map outlining where weather-related incidents have been reported as well as where you can view current outages reported by Georgia Power. You are also encouraged to sign up for the Sandy Springs Alerts feature to obtain up-to-date information in the city.

Watch: Hurricane Irma Weakens To A Tropical Storm, But It's Still Dangerous

Irma was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane early Monday morning as it departed Florida and entered southern Georgia near Albany (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

"In a nutshell, conditions will deteriorate today from south to north," NWS said early Monday morning on its Facebook page. "Rain is on the increase and expect your winds to increase to 35 mph sustained with gusts over 50 mph at times. Trees coming down will be a big threat as the ground becomes saturated."

Peach State residents are encouraged to stay off the roads, and Delta has already cancelled hundreds of flights as Irma is "expected to bring to the Atlanta hub strong crosswinds that exceed operating limits on select mainline and regional aircraft," it said on its website. MARTA, the city's rapid transit service that extends into parts of Fulton, DeKalb and Clayton counties, has also suspended bus, rail and mobility services.

Sandy Springs City Hall will close its administrative offices at 1 p.m. Monday and Fulton County government offices and the school system remain closed.

Irma currently packs winds of 70 mph and gusts of 80 mph. As the day goes on, you can expect wind speeds to reach 30 to 40 mph and gusts to 55 mph. The National Weather Service also predicts 3 to 5 inches of rain to fall, meaning there's a risk of flash flooding throughout the area.

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Monday's projected timeline of the impact around metro Atlanta (which is subject to change) is as follows:

At 11 a.m., sustained winds increase to 30 mph with maximum gusts at 40 mph. Bands with stronger winds and rain start to enter the metro area.

At 2 p.m., bands of strong winds fully enter the metro area. Sustained winds at 31 mph with maximum guests around 45 mph.

At 5 p.m., rain and strong winds continue. Sustained winds of 36 mph with maximum guests at 48 mph associated with the bands.

At 8 p.m., sustained winds of 39 mph with maximum gusts of 54 mph.

At 11 p.m., the storm begins to exit Georgia into Alabama. Sustained winds at 39 mph with maximum gusts of 54 mph.

According to Georgia Power, more than 180,000 customers are without power as of 9 a.m. Monday. The organization also said on its Facebook page that it's ready to respond with about 3,400 personnel from the company and other assisting utilities.

"We are ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible following the storm," it said. "All of our resources are being held and dedicated to storm restoration efforts in the state following Hurricane Irma."

Below are some tools shared by Georgia Power that you can use to report and learn about power outages in your area:

• Outage Alerts – Subscribe to the free Georgia Power Outage Alert service to receive personalized notifications and updates via text message.
• Outage & Storm Center – Available at www.georgiapower.com/storm, customers can visit this site to sign up for Outage Alerts, report and check the status of outages, and access useful safety tips and information. Customers can report and check the status of an outage 24 hours a day by contacting Georgia Power at 888-891-0938.
• Outage Map – Housed within the Outage & Storm Center, Georgia Power’s interactive Outage Map provides near real-time information, allowing users to see where outages are occurring across the state and track estimated restoration times.
• Georgia Power Mobile App – Download the Georgia Power mobile app for Apple and Android devices to access storm and outage information on the go.
• @GeorgiaPower on Twitter – Follow @GeorgiaPower on Twitter for storm tips, outage updates, customer service and more.

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