Question about Interstate driving in Georgia (Atlanta, Savannah: houses, tornado, closing)

[The Kurgan]

Good morning, guys and gals! I was down in Georgia for business/job testing last week and I had a couple of questions about what I saw on the interstates while I was driving:

1) What are those cross arms that I saw on most of the on ramps? They look like railroad crossing arms. I have never seen anything like that before.

2) There were several areas of land along the interstates (Northern and Southern Georgia) where the trees were a mess or obliterated. At first, I thought that the land was being cleared for development. On second thought, it looked like tornado or microburst damage. Has anyone else seen this?

I got the chance to drive from Northern Georgia (at the Chattanooga border) all the way down to Savannah and I have to say that you all live in one beautiful state! Mountains, hills, trees and coast. You guys have it all. I look forward to returning soon! Thanks for reading!

[Georgiafrog]

Originally Posted by The Kurgan

Good morning, guys and gals! I was down in Georgia for business/job testing last week and I had a couple of questions about what I saw on the interstates while I was driving:

1) What are those cross arms that I saw on most of the on ramps? They look like railroad crossing arms. I have never seen anything like that before.

2) There were several areas of land along the interstates (Northern and Southern Georgia) where the trees were a mess or obliterated. At first, I thought that the land was being cleared for development. On second thought, it looked like tornado or microburst damage. Has anyone else seen this?

I got the chance to drive from Northern Georgia (at the Chattanooga border) all the way down to Savannah and I have to say that you all live in one beautiful state! Mountains, hills, trees and coast. You guys have it all. I look forward to returning soon! Thanks for reading!

You must have been on I16. I'm pretty sure the cross arms are for closing down exits during hurricane evacuations. The trees you saw mangled could very well have been from storm damage. We've had a rough couple of years with that. Thanks for the compliments on the state, I think it's beautiful too! Come on back anytime!

[The Kurgan]

Originally Posted by Georgiafrog

You must have been on I16. I'm pretty sure the cross arms are for closing down exits during hurricane evacuations. The trees you saw mangled could very well have been from storm damage. We've had a rough couple of years with that. Thanks for the compliments on the state, I think it's beautiful too! Come on back anytime!

Thanks, Georgiafrog! I did some reading on the tornado activity in the Southeast and was surprised to find out that with the frequent occurrence of spring time tornadoes, much of the South is nicknamed "Dixie Alley". My sister lives north of Nashville and she had some terrible experiences with weather events the past two years as well.

[aus10]

If I'm not mistaken North Georgia (around Ringold just south of Chattanooga) took one heck of a storm last spring in March was it? I'm sure that it is still quite torn up. That same system took out pretty much all of a town in Virginia too, and when I drove I-81 last week it still looked pretty bad through there as well....

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by aus10

If I'm not mistaken North Georgia (around Ringold just south of Chattanooga) took one heck of a storm last spring in March was it? I'm sure that it is still quite torn up. That same system took out pretty much all of a town in Virginia too, and when I drove I-81 last week it still looked pretty bad through there as well....

There are two places along I-75 between Chatt and Atlanta that you can see tornado damage (at least), and the worst one is quite a bit further south than Ringold towards Atlanta. Near Cassville, I think.

[billl]

Originally Posted by Georgiafrog

You must have been on I16. I'm pretty sure the cross arms are for closing down exits during hurricane evacuations.

That is exactly what those are for. I-16 is a hurricane evacuation route, and during an evacuation they close those gates and use the eastbound lanes for westbound (evacuating) traffic.

[The Kurgan]

Originally Posted by aus10

If I'm not mistaken North Georgia (around Ringold just south of Chattanooga) took one heck of a storm last spring in March was it? I'm sure that it is still quite torn up. That same system took out pretty much all of a town in Virginia too, and when I drove I-81 last week it still looked pretty bad through there as well....

My sister had asked me if I saw the damage when I was on 81 the other day, but I didn't notice. She said that the tornado actually crossed I-81!

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

There are two places along I-75 between Chatt and Atlanta that you can see tornado damage (at least), and the worst one is quite a bit further south than Ringold towards Atlanta. Near Cassville, I think.

That makes sense, rcsteiner. I specifically remember seeing tree damage in Northern Georgia (before Atlanta) and again in deep Southern Georgia

Originally Posted by billl

That is exactly what those are for. I-16 is a hurricane evacuation route, and during an evacuation they close those gates and use the eastbound lanes for westbound (evacuating) traffic.

Have you guys ever had a hurricane or tropical storm hit coastal Georgia in recent history? With a storm taking that route, one would think it would have less intensity than a Gulf Coast storm because of cooler ocean temps.

[aus10]

Originally Posted by The Kurgan

My sister had asked me if I saw the damage when I was on 81 the other day, but I didn't notice. She said that the tornado actually crossed I-81!

It is in the southwest section of 81 between Bristol and Wytheville. A very large truckstop sets on the south side of the interstate and the town is to the north side. No tree tops.. blue tarps.. and hundreds of smash tractor trailers. Very, Very sad...... And yet in the middle of it all remains a couple of houses that you can tell are very old still looked unscathed. Mother Nature at her worst...

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by The Kurgan

Have you guys ever had a hurricane or tropical storm hit coastal Georgia in recent history? With a storm taking that route, one would think it would have less intensity than a Gulf Coast storm because of cooler ocean temps.

The Georgia coast has been very, very fortunate in that there has been no direct hurricane making landfall in decades. Look at a map, the Georgia coast is somewhat protected, in a kind of curve from the northeastward angle of the Carolinas above and the Florida peninsula curving back to the southeast below.

Seems like hurricanes either track toward South Florida or below and then curve up in the gulf or if staying in the Atlantic tend to make a northern curve and aim for the Carolinas or Virginia.

In my lifetime, would say the state has suffered more from hurricanes that hit the Florida panhandle and then move up into the state. Hurricane Opal back in 95 blew down millions of trees across the state and caused quite a bit of property damage, all the way up to metro Atlanta. Some of the worst flooding in the state, particularly up and down the Flint River was from a Tropical depression that came up from the gulf a few years prior to this.