Nickel-sized hail, downed trees pepper county

Winter weather is in full force in Rabun County as portions of the county, and other areas in the region, were hit with high winds, fallen trees and a hail storm Thursday, Jan. 12.

Bad weather is the theme this winter since the season officially began Dec. 21, 2022, as the county was hit with the coldest snap in almost a decade coupled with high wind gusts, power outages and downed trees Dec. 23.

On Jan. 12, Rabun County Schools announced early dismissal for students due to “a significant threat of severe weather in our area during normal dismissal time.”

Students were dismissed at 12:30 p.m. “ to avoid having our students, staff and families on the roads during the severe weather,” according to the statement released by the school system on social media.

Rabun County EMA/Search and Rescue published a weather alert on social media stating that a strong system would roll through after 3 p.m. for several hours that had the potential for thunderstorms and damaging winds.

The storm came as planned and affected many areas of the county through downed trees, high winds, thunderstorms, rain and a hail storm. Some people throughout the county even reported power outages.

City of Clayton officials released an emergency alert regarding a tree that was down with power lines down on Old Highway 441 near Leaning Chimney in Clayton. The road was temporarily closed as crews worked to clear the area and motorists were asked to avoid the area.

For 30 minutes on Jan. 12, nickel-sized hail pelted the county, including the Clayton Walmart parking lot.

Hail is pellets of frozen rain which fall in showers from cumulonimbus clouds.

With menacing dark clouds above, Walmart customers who were shopping inside at the 1455 U.S. 441 location were encouraged to move to a safer spot toward the bathroom area in the back of the store due to a tornado possibly being seen nearby.

“One of our associates reported a funnel cloud formed next to the high school area,” Carl Brown, front-end coach for the Clayton Walmart, told The Clayton Tribune. This report came two hours after the county’s students had been released early.

However, Brian Panell, Rabun County EMA director, told The Clayton Tribune Tuesday that his office did not receive any notifications of a funnel cloud or tornado in the area.

Many Rabun Countians took to social media to publish pictures during the hail storm and the aftermath it caused, some finding damage to personal vehicles.

Everett Lampros, public relations manager for Paws 4 Life, was at work in Tiger when the storm hit and reported five “dings” on the hood of his vehicle caused by the hail storm.

“It was hail-acious,” Lampros said with a laugh about the storm. “By the time I ran outside to move my car, the worst was already over! Now, it’s time to assess the damages.”

Georgia Power published a statement following the storm Jan. 12 and highlighted measures it was taking to respond to the severe weather that came through Rabun County and the region.

“Company encourages customers to keep safety first after storms pass, stay informed with tools and resources,” according to the press release.

Gov. Brian Kemp released a press release stating officials would respond to the aftermath of the storm. Kemp also inspected heavily damaged areas via helicopter around the state.

Be prepared for inclement weather

Panell encourages everyone to be prepared and ready to act when storms arise.

“People should always have keen sense of situational awareness, especially when severe weather conditions are favorable or near. Folks should plan before hand and be ready to act in the event the weather conditions deteriorate,” Panell said in a statement Tuesday.

“Have supplies that you need, extra batteries, means of charging your cellular device, and emergency kits ready to be accessed if needed,” Panell said.

Panell said listings of supplies for the emergency kit and information about what you might need can be found at www.weather.gov/owlie/emergencysupplieskit

Panell also recommended having a means of monitoring NOAA weather radio transmissions.

“We are very fortunate to have a NOAA weather transmitter in Rabun County, atop Glassy Mountain in Tiger, Ga. It broadcasts on a frequency of 162.450 mhz 24 hours a day from the National Weather Service-Greenville/Spartanburg office,” Panell said.

Panell urged everyone to sign up for the county’s CodeRed notifications that are offered. This can be done by visiting https://rabuncounty.ga.gov/ and clicking under the resources tab.

“This is a means of mass notification from the county for important information and you can also choose to receive weather warnings too,” Panell added.

Georgia Power also released tips for safety during storms.

-Watch for downed wires. Downed power lines may be hidden by debris or fallen trees.

-Never touch any downed wire or attempt to remove tree branches from power lines-it can kill.

-Don’t step in standing water or saturated ground where downed lines may be present. They could be electrified.

-Avoid chain link fences. They may be electrified by a downed line out of sight and conduct electricity over great distances.

-Watch for crew working across the state

-Protect electronics and appliances. Disconnect or turn off any appliances that will start automatically when power returns to avoid overloading circuits when power is restored.