ATLANTA — The National Weather Service is sending out several crews of surveyors Friday to inspect storm damage.
Surveyors are prioritizing visits to Troup, Meriwether, Pike, Spalding and Butts counties where a suspected tornado likely passed through Thursday afternoon. NWS Atlanta, located in Peachtree City, said crews would start ground surveys of a potentially long-track, significant tornado that seemingly moved across parts of the aforementioned counties.
NWS will work to learn if it was one strong tornado or multiple twisters. It recognized that Thursday's line of storms likely caused damage beyond those areas.
"We will get to these areas as soon as we can, but due to the extent and magnitude of damage across the area, it will likely take several days to see everything," the NWS said in its late-night Thursday report.
North Georgia was under an enhanced risk, Level 3 out of 5, for severe weather Thursday. Most of the area spent the day under a tornado watch with conditions triggering tornado warnings even through metro Atlanta. Most of the region was under a severe thunderstorm warning through the afternoon.
A 5-year-old died in Butts County in the city of Jackson on Thursday, according to the medical examiner. Severe weather sent a tree toppling on top of the vehicle the child was riding in, the ME said.
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Photos: Severe damage impacts metro Atlanta homes, businesses
The severe weather flipped cars and barreled through buildings in Griffin in Spalding County. Trees toppled over and crushed cars in the area as well as in Troup County, with downed power lines and fallen debris blocking roads across north Georgia.
This story will be updated as NWS releases details of its surveys.