Gov. Deal Wednesday afternoon declared a state of emergency in Bartow and Gordon counties after severe storms swept through the state.

Bartow County emergency management officials have confirmed at least one fatality when a possible tornado touched down in Adairsville shortly before noon on Wednesday.

They say a man died when his mobile home collapsed. The area hit the hardest appears to be along Georgia Highway 140 near downtown Adairsville.

Two state legislators, Sen. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville, and Rep. Christian Coomer, R-Adairsville, left the capitol Wednesday afternoon to return to their districts.

The Red Cross has been asked to open a shelter for at least 35 people in Adairsville.
Temperatures are expected to drop into the 20's tonight in that area.

State Climatologist Bill Murphey says Floyd and Gordon Counties say 2 to 3 inches of rain as the storm rolled through. Northwest Georgia saw anywhere from three quarters of an inch to 2 inches of rain. He says northeast Georgia saw 1 and a half to 2 inches of rain. South Georgia, which has been hardest hit by drought, is expected to see less than an inch of rain.

Georgia Power reports about 8500 customers without electricity due to the storms. A spokeswoman says most of the damage is confined to Adairsville. She says linesmen are having trouble getting to the site due to the debris. There are lines down. She says there's no way to tell if a power line is live, so everyone is warned to stay away from any downed power lines and call the company for repairs.

The City Manager of Calhoun reports that city had no wind damage, but did have to close some roads due to spot flooding.

Contributors: Associated Press

Tags: Adairsville, Calhoun, tornado, fatality