Windy and warm Sunday

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The entire weekend won't be a wash. It will still be windy, but Sunday should bring drier weather to the metro area.

Skies are expected to clear after the storms that passed through the area.

Highs Sunday should reach 80 degrees, and winds could reach 30 mph. But it should be very different than the dreary, stormy Saturday, said WSB meteorologist Brad Nitz.

Saturday evening, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the majority of the metro area that remained in effect until 3 a.m. Sunday. Cherokee, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Paulding counties were among those included in the watch.

Earlier Saturday, small hail was reported in Paulding County and across Fulton County, including Mountain Park, Sandy Springs, Alpharetta and Johns Creek, the National Weather Service said. By 8 p.m., about an inch and a half of rain had fallen at the Atlanta airport, the NWS said.

Strong thunderstorms also brought heavy winds of up to 60 mph in Cobb County, WSB-TV meteorologist David Chandley said. Heavy winds brought trees down in DeKalb County, where at least one home suffered extensive damage.

Rain picked up again around 11 p.m. Saturday night. There is about a 20 percent chance of rain Sunday afternoon.

-- Kristi Swartz and Mashaun Simon contributed to this article.