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Hall County authorities respond to reports of damage at Aqualand Marina
Aqualand Marina
Hall authorities received reports of damage at Aqualand Marina after an afternoon storm passed through the area on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020. (Courtesy Hall County Fire Services)

Hall County authorities have received reports of damage in the area of Aqualand Marina on Lake Lanier after a storm passed through Monday afternoon. 

Hall County Fire Services Division Chief Zach Brackett said no injuries have been reported. 

Personnel from Hall County emergency management and the Army Corps of Engineers were en route as of 4 p.m. Monday to assess the scene. 

“Something hit,” said Lu Treadway of the Lake Lanier Dwellers Facebook group. “There are tons of damage over there. … People are still checking in (with damage) reports.” 

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Oscarville, a community in Forsyth County about 7 miles west of Gainesville, at about 2:45 p.m. The alert warned of quarter-sized hail and wind gusts up to 60 mph for areas of Hall County. 

At about 4 p.m., NWS meteorologist Kaitlyn Martin told The Times the agency had also received reports of damage to docks and boats at the Aqualand Marina, as well as trees down in the area. 

Martin said the weather service was not aware of tornadoes in the area, only “straight-line wind.” But, she said, a clearer picture of what passed through the area will be available in coming days. 

“Nothing suggested clearly that there was a tornado, but ... we do go back and look at the data again,” Martin said. “We’ll probably know more here in the next day or so, as we get a more complete picture of the damages.” 

The NWS says it's likely there is damage at Holiday Marina on Lake Lanier as well. 

Forecasters said Tropical Storm Isaias is partially responsible for Monday afternoon's storms, as it approaches the East Coast near the Carolinas, but a separate storm system is also at play. Isaias is expected to strengthen into a hurricane and make landfall tonight, according to tweets from the National Hurricane Center.

See original story from the Times here.