Wednesday’s storms are a small taste of what Hurricane Helene will do to Georgia

ATLANTA – As Georgia prepared for Hurricane Helene, a powerful front moved through, spawning at least one tornado and bringing heavy rain, hail, and downed trees.

The National Weather Service will investigate a report of a tornado in Habersham County Wednesday afternoon.

At around 2:44 p.m., a tornado warning was issued for Habersham and Rabun counties after a thunderstorm with the potential to produce a tornado was spotted about 5 miles southwest of Clarkesville, near Demorest.

RELATED: The latest from Helene | Closures/Cancellations

The storm was moving northeast toward Tallulah Falls at about 30 miles per hour.

“We’ve received reports of a tornado hitting Habersham in this particular case. We’ve already seen some power outages across the state; I believe about 6,000 homes were affected in Habersham,” said Chris Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency.

Damage was reported along the route. At least one tree fell on a home near Demorest and people drowned due to flooding at a salon in Cornelia.

On September 25, 2024, a tree fell on a car in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Inman Village Parkway in Atlanta. (FOX 5)

In the Atlanta metropolitan area, Wednesday’s storms reportedly downed numerous trees, including one tree that fell on a car at 870 Inman Village Parkway NE.

State emergency officials warned that the storms that will arrive along with Hurricane Helene would be even worse.

“We’re going to see some significant power outages like we’ve probably never seen before,” Stallings said.

The Georgia National Guard will deploy 250 National Guard troops on Thursday and an emergency response center has been set up in Macon.