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Sunday storm dunks PTC

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Homes and businesses were damaged, one person was hospitalized, and portions of Peachtree City were virtually reduced to mini-Lake Peachtree Sunday as nearly three inches of rain inundated the area in an hour’s time.

Robert Beasley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, estimated 2.89 inches of rain fell in the area, but he couldn’t say for sure. Equipment used to gauge rainfall was damaged when lightning struck the National Weather Service building during the rainstorm.

“We had a lightning strike hit the building and it knocked out our upper air system and auto station that records wind, rain and other weather parameters, and it was located at Falcon Field.”

About 6:15 p.m. Sunday, NWS issued a flood warning, and although cold hard data was unavailable, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to determine the agency’s prediction was dead on, officials said.

A weather cell literally just sat on top of downtown Peachtree City, where the NWS is located, Beasley said. The result: Massive flooding in Peachtree City at Tinsley Mill Village near Flat Creek, forcing some residents to ditch their automobiles for canoes.

Gables Court Apartments, First Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City, 300 Willowbend, 101 Lakeside Drive, Battery Way and portions of Ga. Highway 54 in downtown Peachtree City were affected.

“Our bubble didn’t hold as well as it should have,” Peachtree City Fire Chief Stony Lohr said. “Some of the damage was at First Presbyterian Church. Unfortunately, there were cars parked at the lower end of the parking lot and they became submarines. They are going to be real surprised when they go to start up their cars and realize that they don’t work too well.”

All told, the damage caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, Fayette County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator Capt. Pete Nelms said.

“Eight units in Gables Court, the entire lower floor had some damage to it,” Nelms said. “Numerous homes were struck by lightning, including one in unincorporated Fayette County that included one transport to the hospital.”

Meanwhile, as the rain continued to fall in Peachtree City and the water from Flat Creek flooded the shoreline, about 38 personnel from the Peachtree City Fire Department went into action.

They worked quickly to knock on doors at Tinsley Mill Village, a condominium complex at water’s edge, to ensure residents’ safety.

Only one woman at Tinsley Mill was evacuated. Others had already gotten their canoes, or simply sat on the second-floor balconies and watched the action, Lohr indicated.

“Most of the people were on their balconies just chilling,” Lohr said. “As long as they have a glass of wine or a beer, they’re fine.”

Three homes were struck by lightning, Lohr said. But in the end, Mother Nature spared the condominiums from severe damage and no casualties were reported in Peachtree City.