Storms knock out power to more than 31,000 in Ga.; new tornado watch issued

ATLANTA (AP) -- Severe thunderstorms pounded parts of Georgia before dawn today, knocking out power to more than 31,500 customers statewide.<br /> <br /> A new tornado watch was issued at 7 a.m. Tuesday for 33 Georgia counties. The watch, scheduled to run through 2 p.m., includes Augusta, Statesboro and Dublin. Another tornado watch for a large portion of north Georgia is scheduled to expire at 11:00 this morning. (See separate posting.)<br /> <br /> Georgia Power reported more than 29,900 customers without power in metro Atlanta before dawn Tuesday.<br /> <br /> Earlier, National Weather Service radar detected a storm over Smyrna capable of producing a tornado shortly after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. The warning, which expired by 6:15 a.m., covered densely populated residential areas in Cobb and Fulton counties.<br /> <br /> There were no immediate reports of any injuries from the storms in Georgia.