Augusta, GA

Storm topples trees, power lines as it moves through CSRA

Published

3 weeks ago

May 10, 2024

Storm topples trees, power lines as it moves through CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The CSRA saw a little bit of damage as a thunderstorm moved through the region Thursday.

With the region not out of the woods yet, Aiken County Public Schools canceled outdoor activities for the afternoon and evening, but left regular class dismissal times in place.

A tree was reported down along Kennedy Road just north of McCormick, and a power line was down along Confederate Drive near Lake Thurmond in Modoc.

Two lanes of Highway 421 were flooded near Howlandville Road in Warrenville, according to a storm spotter.

It came during a FIRST ALERT that was issued through early Friday for multiple rounds of storms.

Strong thunderstorm gusts up to 60 mph and large hail are the primary concerns, but an isolated tornado can’t be ruled out.

Severe weather was considered most likely Thursday morning, but there will be multiple rounds including a third Friday morning.

To our west in Georgia, the heavy line of storms swept into Atlanta near the end of the morning rush hour.

The Atlanta airport reported hundreds of delays Thursday morning.

Crews work to clear a large tree that fell and knocked out power in the Grant Park neighborhood of Atlanta.(WANF)

Overnight severe weather caused significant damage on Ellington Road at Old Highway 5 in Ellijay. The area was under a tornado warning late Wednesday, but it’s unclear whether the damage was caused by an actual tornado.

Overnight in South Carolina, a resident captured video of a funnel cloud in Anderson County as severe storms moved through.

Lori Dozier saw the funnel cloud from the living room of her home on Carolina Avenue in Honea Path around 2 a.m. Thursday. The funnel cloud isn’t visible in the dark until lightning illuminates the sky.

Lori Dozier saw the funnel cloud from the living room of her home on Carolina Avenue in Honea Path during overnight storms on May 9.

The storms continue a streak of torrential rains and tornadoes this week from the Plains to the Midwest and, now, the Southeast.

At least four people have died since Monday.

The weather comes on the heels of a stormy April in which the U.S. had 300 confirmed tornadoes, the second-most on record for the month and the most since 2011.

Storms had already left more than a quarter-million customers without power Thursday in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Missouri, according to PowerOutage.us.

A storm Wednesday in northeastern Tennessee damaged homes, injured people, toppled power lines and trees, and killed a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, north of Knoxville, officials said. A second person was killed south of Nashville in Columbia, the Maury County seat, where officials said a tornado had likely touched down and homes were blown off their foundations.

In North Carolina, a state of emergency was declared Wednesday night for Gaston County, west of Charlotte, after a storm that toppled power lines and trees, including one that landed on a car. One person in the car was killed, and another was taken to a hospital, officials said.

The storms followed heavy rain, strong winds, hail and tornadoes in parts of the central U.S. on Monday, including a twister that ripped through an Oklahoma town and killed one person.

On Tuesday, the Midwest took the brunt of the bad weather. Tornadoes touched down in parts of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

Tornadoes were also confirmed near Pittsburgh, in central Arkansas and in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia twister was at least the 11th tornado this year in the state, which sees two tornadoes in an average year.

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Augusta, GA

Northern Lights could flare again across region with sunspot’s return

Published

6 hours ago

June 2, 2024

Press Room

Northern Lights could flare again across region with sunspot’s return

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Mid-May brought a stunning display of the Northern Lights to much of the world with reports of the aurora visible in all of the lower 48 states in the U.S. – and across the CSRA.

The sunspot responsible for the impressive solar flares was at just the right location to send the energy toward the Earth, resulting in a G5 geomagnetic storm.

This storm was the biggest since 2003 and triggered a stunning and widespread view of the Northern Lights.

The sunspot turned away from the Earth for just over two weeks and is now reappearing on the eastern edge of the sun. The sun rotates on an average of 27 days so active sunspots are typically visible from Earth for around two weeks before facing away from Earth.

Right now, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter is sitting on the opposite of the sun from Earth, giving solar scientists the ability to monitor the far side of the sun.

This gives us a special treat as the active sunspot was able to be tracked, even when hidden from Earth’s view. The sunspot has been less active recently but it’s too early to say if this trend will continue.

Now that the sunspot is back in view, over the next two weeks, any solar flares from this region may reach Earth.

However, it’s the coronal mass ejections or CMEs scientists are watching for to trigger the Northern Lights.

For one to have the best odds of reaching Earth, it would need to erupt around June 4-6, when the sunspot is the prime location. This 27 days, a full solar rotation since the mid-May solar flares. This is when we have the best odds of getting a geomagnetic storm and seeing the Northern Lights pushed further south again.

Keep in mind, the aurora event in May was a rare occurrence.

It was the first G5 geomagnetic storm in 21 years. So the likelihood of a repeat performance so close behind is not terribly high.

But even more common G3 to G4 storms could still allow for the Northern Lights to appear low on the horizon in parts of the Carolinas.

And we are in a solar maximum the rest of the year into 2025, so the possibility of more impressive aurora events remains for a while.

You can check out the latest Northern Lights forecast with our tracker right here: https://www.foxcarolina.com/page/northern-lights-tracker/

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Augusta, GA

GSP trooper hit by wrong-way driver on Riverwatch Parkway

Published

13 hours ago

June 2, 2024

Press Room

GSP trooper hit by wrong-way driver on Riverwatch Parkway

A trooper with the Georgia State Patrol was seriously injured Friday night after being struck overnight Saturday by a wrong-way driver on Riverwatch Parkway. Around 11:09 p.m. Friday, a trooper was traveling east on Riverwatch Parkway near mile marker 3.5 when he was struck head on by a Toyota 4Runner that was traveling in the […]

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