THURSDAY’S WEATHER: Waves of rain with a chance of strong storms this afternoon

Heavy rain coming down in spots across North Georgia on Thursday morning won’t be the region’s only shot of wet weather.

A front currently sitting over Mississippi will eventually make its way east, bringing with the chance for thunderstorms and even severe weather Thursday afternoon. According to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Jennifer Lopez, the threat of a tornado is low Thursday, but it’s definitely not at zero.

“As we get into the second half of the day, that’s when that front is going to be here, bringing in more rain and more thunderstorms,” Lopez said. “Make sure you’re paying attention to all this stormy weather.”

[5:20 AM - 5/26] Current radar shows showers and thunderstorms tracking north through the area. This activity will continue for much of the day. Some storms could become strong to severe. Flooding will be the primary hazard along with strong winds, and frequent lightning. #gawx pic.twitter.com/BYtYy2Huis
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) May 26, 2022

Lopez expects scattered downpours to continue through the start of the Thursday morning drive, but parts of North Georgia could get a break from the rain by midmorning. Before daybreak, the heaviest rain was coming down north of Lake Lanier, where there is a potential for flash flooding.

The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for the mountain counties through Friday morning. Rainfall totals could amount to 1 to 3 inches across the area, with locally higher amounts in the higher elevations, according to the Weather Service.

In Cobb County, a tree fell on the northbound lanes of Cobb Parkway in Acworth during the early morning storms. The lanes were closed until about 7:15 a.m., when crews finished clearing the debris.

This has been cleared, no more delays! #ATLtraffic https://t.co/1ssANqZpfa
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) May 26, 2022

“Rain is a good thing as we have been so dry lately,” Lopez said. “This rain that we have, not just today but for the past couple of days, is really helping out with the drought situation.”

Atlanta’s rainfall totals are still below average for the month of May, but Lopez expects Thursday’s wet weather to take care of that. She is calling for widespread rainfall totals of about an inch, with some areas expected to record more than 2 inches by the end of the day.

Showers and storms off and on today, the greatest severe weather threat will come this afternoon and evening.

Threats are:
+Damaging wind gusts
+Large hail
+Brief tornado possible
+Flooding, especially in NE Georgia

I'll be tracking the storms live on @WSBTV and @wsbradio. pic.twitter.com/dtjQI1yKZB
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) May 26, 2022

“We’re going to see these showers right through the afternoon and even into tonight as that rain pushes in,” she said. “We will have more rain for us as we go through the day, and these showers are going to be very heavy at times, so watch out for the threat of some thunderstorms.”

With the rain and storms around, temperatures are expected to top out at 75 degrees Thursday in Atlanta. The city should get a chance to dry out Friday ahead of what should be a nice Memorial Day weekend.

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Lopez expects near total sunshine Saturday, Sunday and Monday as temperatures rise into the mid-to upper 80s, but humidity should remain low.