The following events were reported: Hail, Lightning. These occurred near station USW00013874, approximately 25.9897 km away, between 2009-04-23 17:25:00 and 2009-04-23 20:50:00. The events included records with hailstones measuring 1.40625 inches.Thankfully, no injuries or fatalities were reported. The events caused property damage valued at 13105000.0 and crop damage of 0.0. Episode Narrative: A strong shortwave, embedded within northwest flow aloft, combined with a very unstable surface air mass to result in the development of numerous northwest to southeastward moving large hail producing severe thunderstorms...primarily during the afternoon and evening hours. Many reports of quarter to golf ball-sized hail were received across primarily the northern half of the state during these hours. A strong shortwave, embedded within northwest flow aloft, combined with a very unstable surface air mass to result in the development of numerous northwest to southeastward moving large hail producing severe thunderstorms...primarily during the afternoon and evening hours. Event Narrative: The public observed quarter-sized hail in east central Paulding county near New Hope southeast toward the Cobb county line. The Paulding County Emergency Management Director and the public observed nickel to quarter-sized hail across the southeast part of the county from southeast of Dallas to along the Douglas-Paulding county line, south of Hiram. The public observed nickel to quarter-sized hail in the Powder Springs area in the southwest part of the county. This was the second of four severe thunderstorms to impact Cobb county during the evening of April 23rd. The Gwinnett County 911 Center reported that lightning struck a home on Riverwalk Trail just off Annistown Road. The roof collapsed as as a result of the fire and the home was destroyed. The 398-foot tall FAA control tower at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport sustained a lightning strike. Intense cloud-to-ground lightning during a severe thunderstorm had already resulted in a loss of power to much of the airport. Employees of the tower smelled smoke in the tower immediately following the strike, which required a brief evacuation of the tower. Ground operations were ceased for several minutes during this thunderstorm as a result, compounding an already bad situation at the world's busiest airport. In addition, penny to quarter-sized hail fell off-and-on from 806 pm EDT to 852 pm EDT, winds gusts to 42 knots, and nearly 1.5 inches of rain fall during the one-hour period from 8 pm to 9 pm EDT. Much of the metro Atlanta area reported power outages following these thunderstorms. Despite the lightning strike to the tower and its impact on airport operations, no significant damages were reported. The public observed quarter-sized hail in the College Park area. Earlier reports from the public indicated that golf ball-sized hail fell along the Douglas/Fulton county line southeast of Chapel Hill. This storm tracked with similar intensity from this point eastward across southern Fulton county to College Park. This was a separate thunderstorm from the one that was simultaneously producing hail further north in the county, northwest of Atlanta. The public observed quarter-sized hail in the Roswell area. This was the third severe thunderstorm to affect Fulton county during the evening of April 23rd. The public observed quarter to 1.50 inch diameter-sized hail in the far southeast corner of the county from just north and west of Mableton to around Six Flags. This thunderstorm was the same thunderstorm that earlier produced hail in southwest Cobb county near Powder Springs. The public observed quarter-sized hail in northern Douglas county, north of Douglasville near the Douglas/Paulding county line, penny-sized hail in Douglasville, and golf ball-sized hail in the southeast part of the county near and southeast of Chapel Hill. The public reported that hail completely covered the ground in some areas. Significant damage to vehicles was reported from this area. Several reports of penny, quarter, and golf ball-sized hail received from the Smyrna and Vinings area in eastern Cobb county. Many reports of quarter sized-hail were received across northern Cobb county from Acworth to Kennesaw to Marietta and the northeast corner of the county. The public reported golf ball-sized hail northeast of Acworth near the Cherokee county line. The public estimated that wind gusts with the thunderstorm were near 50 mph, but no structural, tree, or power line damage was reported. Several reports of large hail were received from southern Cherokee county. The public observed penny to quarter-sized hail from southwest Cherokee county approximately six miles west-northwest of Woodstock into the city of Woodstock. Golf ball-sized hail was observed by the public in the southeast corner of the county, or about five miles east-southeast of Woodstock. The Fulton County EMA Director was in the area at the time and estimated wind gusts of 60 mph. However, no tree, power line, or structural damage was reported. The Fulton County Emergency Management Director reported that golf ball-sized hail fell at Turner Field just southeast of Atlanta. The public observed penny-sized hail on the north side of Atlanta. This was the fourth severe thunderstorm to track across Fulton county during the evening of April 23rd. Several reports of large hail were received from the public across Clayton county as a slow moving severe thunderstorm tracked from the northwest to the east central part of the county. The ASOS observer at the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport observed penny to quarter-sized hail off and on for a period of 46 minutes. Golf ball-sized hail was reported from the public in Forest Park and Morrow, while penny to quarter-sized hail fell near Rex, east of Morrow, and northeast of Jonesboro as the storm began to weaken slightly as it approached the eastern border of the county. In addition, the wind gusted to 42 knots at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during the hailstorm. Frequent to continuous cloud-to-ground lightning was also observed at the airport during the thunderstorm. The public observed golf ball-sized hail just west of Snellville and half-dollar-sized hail in the Snellville area. Amateur radio operators reported quarter-sized hail in the Lilburn area. The public observed penny-sized hail in the Tucker area and penny to golf ball-sized hail in the Stone Mountain area. Radar data suggests that large hail likely fell from Tucker to Stone Mountain and points just to the east. A storm spotter observed quarter-sized hail just west of Stockbridge, while the public observed quarter-sized hail for up to 10 minutes in the Stockbridge area. Nickel-sized hail was observed on Interstate-75 near Flippen and penny-sized hail was observed by the public in the McDonough area. The public observed quarter-sized hail northwest of Atlanta near the Cobb county line.