UPDATE, Thursday morning: Lanier County Sheriff Nick Norton said power was still out Thursday morning in some areas. Several houses suffered structural damage. Roads had to be cleared throughout the night.

National Weather Service said the tornado touched down at 8:23 p.m. Wednesday near Ray City and fell apart at about 8:45 p.m. near Lakeland.

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VALDOSTA – A tornado made its way through parts of South Georgia Wednesday night managing to dodge Lowndes County, according to the National Weather Service Tallahassee office. 

Meteorologist Don Harrigan said a “radar confirmed” tornado touched down near Ray City around 8:30 p.m. before moving southeast through Lakeland. 

Harrigan said the tornado never made its way to Lowndes and instead impacted neighboring counties, ultimately landing between Dupont and Withers. 

The tornado was spotted due to debris stemming from it, he said. Its strength was unknown late Wednesday. 

He couldn’t confirm the tornado went near Homerville as the city is out of the Tallahassee’s office coverage area, but he did say that Homerville saw about one-inch of hail.

Lowndes can expect more rain through the night, possibly a thunderstorm, but “nothing severe,” Harrigan said.