Messy morning commute expected

Metro Atlantans braced for a second round of heavy rain on Thursday, while forecasters predicted the rain could change to snow showers before ending Thursday night across extreme North Georgia.

No accumulation is expected, but the National Weather Service said snow showers are possible after midnight from Cartersville, Canton and Cumming northward.

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HYOSUB SHIN / hshin@ajc.com

Cars move through standing water on Centennial Olympic Park Drive as rain passes through the Atlanta metro area .

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Until then, more rain — and possibly thunderstorms — will continue to sweep into the state from Alabama.

Forecasters said some of the storms could be severe, especially south of a line from Atlanta to Gainesville.

Much of Georgia, including metro Atlanta, remained under a flood watch until noon Thursday, while a tornado watch was posted until noon for 41 counties in the southeast corner of the state.

No major delays were reported at Hartsfield-Jackson International before daybreak. Rain on Wednesday caused delays throughout the day.

The National Weather Service reported rainfall amounts of 3 to 4 inches across North and Central Georgia, while radar indicated that as much as 7 to 8 inches of rain had fallen across a wide swath of Southwest Georgia north of Albany.

While no snow accumulation was predicted for North Georgia, parts of the south, including much of Mississippi, were under winter storm warnings. The Weather Service said as much as 5 inches of snow could accumulate Thursday across central Mississippi, and forecasters in Alabama were calling for up to 2 inches of snow in that state.

Houston saw snowflakes in the wee hours Thursday.

The forecast for metro Atlanta calls for a 100 percent chance of rain Thursday, with temperatures in the upper 50s.

Thursday night will be mostly cloudy and colder, with a 30 percent chance of showers and lows in the mid- to upper 30s. The rain could become mixed with snow before ending across the extreme northern suburbs, the Weather Service said.

Sunny skies are forecast for Friday through Sunday, with highs in the low to mid-50s and lows in the upper 20s.