Originally posted 2:36 p.m. March 27, 2024
Updated 2:40 p.m. March 28, 2024
VALDOSTA — The city of Valdosta continued to clean up Thursday after strong thunderstorms slammed Lowndes County early Wednesday, causing damage and power outages.
Power crews and tree-trimming workers were out in force after daybreak Wednesday, particularly on the city’s west side. The National Weather Service said the worst damage from the storm seemed to be along a corridor roughly following Gornto Road, with wind gusts of up to 75 mph recorded.
Trees were down all along Gornto Road and surrounding streets, as well as on Valdosta State University’s North Campus; the weather service said they had reports of 32 houses with trees on them within Valdosta.
At VSU’s North Campus, a large tree fell and did some damage to Barrow Hall, home of aerospace studies and ROTC, a statement from the university said.
“The baseball field backstop netting, tarps, and windscreens are damaged,” the VSU statement said. “Several outside light poles are damaged on North Campus.” First reports indicate the university lost 35 trees.
VSU was open as scheduled Wednesday.
Portions of Howell Brook Drive, Mackey Street, Gornto Road, Dellwood Drive and Dogwood Drive were still closed at noon Thursday due to work on downed power lines, said Angela Bray of the city’s engineering department.
Fallen trees had already been removed in the areas of the road closures and the streets were expected to be reopened soon, she said.
The weather service said that, according to radar, the damaging weather was straight-line winds and not a tornado.
Public schools in Valdosta were closed Wednesday as a precaution, but the schools said early Wednesday afternoon that classes would resume on Thursday.
Police reported more than 4,000 homes without power in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but by noon Thursday that number had been reduced to fewer than 200, according to Georgia Power.
Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said there were few reports of damage outside of the city limits.
The storms were part of a line of showers caused by a stalled cold front, the weather service said.