Nearly 2,000 in Stephens County without power last night

After a day of heavy rains on Tuesday, Tuesday night saw at least a portion of the high winds predicted by the National Weather Service, with multiple resulting power outages reported in the city and county. 

As of 1:20 a.m., Georgia power was reporting 4 outages with 37 customers without power in Toccoa, with no specified restoration time. One outage is near Alewine Park (less than 5 customers), another is near Henderson Falls Park (less than 5 customers), the third and fourth are clustered near St. Matthias Episcopal Church off East Tugalo Street (35 customers). Georgia Power is also reporting an outage in the county off Lake Louise Road impacing less than 5 customers, and a second outage in the county, this one off of Wolf Pit Road, impacting less than 5 customers. By 5 a.m. this morning, only the outages near Alewine Park and Henderson Falls park remained unresolved. 

As of 1:20 a.m., Habersham EMC was showing 0 outages in Stephens County, and Hart EMC was showing 1,837 customers without power, 1,639 of those in Stephens County. Crews are working through the night to restore power, company officials state. At 1:20, power had been restored to the outage that impacted Rock Creek Rd, Hwy 123, Brookdale Rd, Oak Valley Rd, Shady Ln, Defoor Rd, Whispering Pines Dr, Keener Rd. Crews were on site at Bowen Road, and Seven Forks Road. Crews were on site at various outages in the communities of Holcomb Access, Bruce Creek, Mullens Ford, Brookhaven Cir, and Jenkins Ferry Road where 1,097 customers were without power. Crews were likewise onsite at outages reported in the communities of Martin, Eastanollee, Avalon Rd, Greater Hope Rd, Crawford Rd, Scott Rd, Singleton Rd where 590 customers were without power. Four new outages were reported without crews on site yet. 

At 5 a.m. this morning, Habersham EMC continued to show no outages overnight in Stephens County, and Hart EMC reported that power had been restored to all but 516 customers in Stephens County, with more than 500 of those in the communities of Martin, Eastanollee, Avalon Rd, Greater Hope Rd, Crawford Rd, Scott Rd and Singleton Rd.

At 1:30, Stephens County was no longer under any severe weather watches or alerts from the National Weather Service, with the majority of severe weather having moved out of the state by that time. Forecasts show mostly sunny weather today, with highs in the upper 40s and a West wind of  8 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph and a clear night tonight with a low of 38. 

Tomorrow’s forecast calls for sunshine and a high near 58 with winds from 7-10 mph.  Although another round of severe weather is predicted for the region beginning Friday, Toccoa’s forecast shows minimal impact at this time, with Showers on Friday, with thunderstorms also possible after 1pm. High near 52. The chance of precipitation is 100%.

On Friday night, Showers are likely and there is the possibility of a thunderstorm before 8pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and midnight.  Saturday we are forecast for a breezy day with sunshine and a high near 44. 

It should be noted that early forecasts for Martin Luther King Day next Monday show a chance of rain and snow showers.