Power has largely been restored and cleanup is well underway after powerful thunderstorms swept across Northeast Georgia on Tuesday, June 17, leaving a trail of downed trees, damaged lines, and widespread power outages.
By early Wednesday evening, utility providers had made significant progress. Georgia Power and Georgia EMC reported a few scattered outages across their service areas. That’s a sharp drop from the thousands of outages reported just 24 hours earlier when severe weather pummeled the region.
Short severe storm
The storms that rolled through on Tuesday brought intense wind gusts, frequent lightning, and heavy rain. The National Weather Service issued multiple severe thunderstorm warnings across North Georgia as the system moved eastward. In some areas, winds exceeded 60 mph—strong enough to snap trees, toss debris, and damage power infrastructure.
Linemen and road crews fanned out early Wednesday to repair snapped poles, restring power lines, and clear debris from roads. In Habersham County, road crews worked through the morning to remove fallen trees blocking roads.
In Lumpkin County, a major roadway from Morrison Parkway to Crown Mountain was closed all day Wednesday due to downed trees and power lines. The road reopened just before 7 p.m. on June 18.
HEMC crews and their sister co-ops and contractor teams worked “around the clock to get power back on for everyone,” the cooperative said. “We’re also tracking another set of pop-up storms rolling through our area later today and tonight.”
More storms possible
This week’s storms are part of a broader weather pattern affecting much of the Southeast. According to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA/HS), other counties across North and Central Georgia also reported damage to homes, vehicles, and infrastructure due to fallen trees and wind.
Officials continue to urge residents to stay weather-aware, especially with more scattered storms expected through the end of the week.
