Tropical Storm Zeta Slams Metro Atlanta, North Georgia

Tropical Storm Zeta tore through Georgia overnight, bringing heavy rain and high winds that toppled trees and power lines across metro Atlanta and much of North Georgia.

Nearly 1 million customers were without power early Thursday, according to a statewide power outage tracker. By the evening, power remained out to more than 500,000. 

At least one person was killed when a tree fell onto his house in Cherokee County, according to 11Alive. 

Winds gusting more than 60 mph arrived in the early hours Thursday, uprooting trees and snapping power lines. Road closures were reported across the area, from Atlanta to Alpharetta and stretching from Marietta to Dalton. 

The power outages forced at least 15 counties, including Cobb, Rockdale and Fulton, to announce delays in opening early voting locations. Fulton County said the outages affected at least nine voting locations. 

Georgia Tech tweeted that "high winds from Tropical Storm Zeta have caused downed trees and power outages on campus." That scene played out across the region with clean-up crews using chainsaws to clear roads and power crews trying to restore electricity.

Zeta made landfall Wednesday evening as a powerful Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds near Cocodrie, La. It was the fifth named storm to strike the state this year. 

The storm then sped across Mississippi and Alabama, leaving a path of destruction, before hammering Georgia.

Ahead of the storm, the National Weather Service had issued tropical storm warnings — a rarity for inland Georgia. "Primary hazards will be high wind gusts and flash flooding, with a non-zero tornado threat," the weather service said.

The weather service added:  "PLEASE DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS. We have seen multiple instances this year of roads being washed away by flood waters this year."