It was not the usual winter storm Wednesday, as portions of south Coweta County were struck by a tornado and much larger areas of the county encountered high wind, torrential rain and hail. Two dozen homes suffered significant damage as the tornado moved eastward for approximately four miles in north Meriwether and south Coweta counties.

Coweta Emergency Management Director Jay Jones Thursday morning said the National Weather Service staff on site had confirmed that a tornado touched down in extreme south Coweta and remained on the ground for approximately four miles beginning near Luthersville in north Meriwether County and continuing eastward. The tornado struck between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Jones said.

Jones said there was no loss of life in the tornado that caused moderate to sever damage to approximately two dozen homes, along with damage to trees and power lines. Coweta County engineers were on the scene to assess the storm damage, Jones said.

Jones said Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine was also at the site assessing the damage.

Sporadic hail and wind damage was also reported in the north and east portions of Coweta. Jones said his office had received reports from Roscoe that a house had a portion of the roof torn off. A strong storm during late afternoon near the Coweta/Fayette line dumped large amounts of hail up to baseball-sized chunks on motorists heading home during rush hour.

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