Thunderstorm drops hail, darkens Savannah

May 25– A severe thunderstorm Monday afternoon blacked out Savannah and some of the surrounding area, but Tennessee Valley Electric Cooperative crews had power restored downtown and elsewhere in the city a matter of minutes.

The summer-type storm popped up and in an usual pattern moved slowly west across the county, dropping small to moderate-sized hail amid torrential rains accompanied by strong winds.

Heavy lightning zapped both the Savannah substation and the east substation, said TVEC General Manager Jerry Taylor.

"We weathered it," he quipped.

Taylor said all of Savannah was briefly without power. Most of the vicinity served by the east substation was also quickly restored with the exception of areas around Meadow Lane Drive, Airport Road, and County Home Road.

TVEC also sustained heavy lightning damage on Harbert Drive.

Tuesday morning, there were still a couple of locations on Smith’s Fork which were without power after a tree fell on a line, Taylor said.

Hardin County Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director Marilyn White said trees and limbs were downed in sporadic areas across the county, including Counce. A tree fell on a house on Country Club Road, briefly trapping a 17-year-old boy who was treated and released at the local hospital.

Hardin Medical Center denied unconfirmed reports its generators failed to fire up during the power outage.

Savannah Fire Chief Jerry Shelley said damage in the city was relatively slight, although some trees did topple.

"The soil is saturated and it’s not taking quite as much wind now to take stuff down," White said.