MACON, Ga. — National Weather Service meteorologists have rated the tornado that struck Macon-Bibb County at EF-1 strength, with the highest wind gusts at 90 mph.
At 3:33 p.m. Tuesday, a brief tornado touched down on the north side of Macon near Piedmont Northside Hospital.
The tornado lifted minutes later at 3:36 p.m. as it was crossing Interstate 75.
Homes along Wimbish Road and Old Lundy Road took a beating in Tuesday’s storms -- even a vital piece of a history at a north Macon congregation took a tumble.
“When they built the sanctuary in 1980, it was a big deal. The day the steeple was placed, the last part of a long building project,” said Northminster Presbyterian pastor, Ralph Hawkins.
At sunrise Tuesday morning, everything looked calm, but that quickly changed hours later.
“At the moment we were watching out the window, trees were horizontal, powerlines were everywhere, and that’s when we sorta hunkered down in the hallway,” said Hawkins.
The steeple laid out on the black rooftop, slaughtered by the squalls.
Crane crews moved in Wednesday to bring it down to the ground. It took a good bit of the morning to gently get it to the concrete. Most of the metal that meant so much will go to the scrap heap.
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