Heavy winds and rains cause thousands of power outages in north Georgia

“Batten down the hatches,” Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum warned in a Facebook post Tuesday as storm clouds gathered in the distance.

And the sheriff was correct.

The thunderstorms that came through north Georgia late Tuesday brought high winds and heavy downpours of rain that downed trees and caused a flurry of power outages. Mangum said Wednesday she didn't have any reports of any serious damage in the county.

Jackson EMC reported Tuesday night that in Jackson County alone there were 1,195 locations without power. Others included 2,289 in Barrow, 2,120 in Hall, 173 in Clarke, and 165 in Madison counties.

More than 18,000 customers were affected in the Jackson EMC service area. Georgia Power and Walton EMC also reported numerous power outages in the Athens and north Georgia area.

Nearly all of the outages had been restored to power by Wednesday morning, according to Jackson EMC spokesperson Wendy Jones.

Health inspections: 12 Athens area restaurants scored a 'B' or below. The lowest was 78.

National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Willis said Wednesday that the storms were a cluster that organized across Kentucky and Tennessee then moved south in Georgia causing a series of storm between 5 p.m. and into the evening.

The storms brought winds of 50 to 60 mph and brought down numerous trees that caused the majority of power outages, according to Willis.

Jones reported that downed trees and limb breaks damaged power lines and broke poles. She said contract crews were brought it to assist its crews with repairing the damage.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Heavy winds and rains cause thousands of power outages in north Georgia