Storms rumble across metro Atlanta as holiday travelers hit roads
Strong storms will march across metro Atlanta on Tuesday, during what experts predict will be one of the holiday week’s busiest road travel days.
If you’re hitting the highway ahead of Thanksgiving celebrations, be extra careful on slippery pavement. If you’re airport-bound, pay close attention for any flight delays and cancellations.
Reported cancellations at the airport remained extremely low Tuesday morning, according to FlightAware.com. However, the Federal Aviation Administration did issue a ground stop for airports including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to thunderstorms, pausing inbound flights at their origins. It was set to expire at 8:45am.
The western half of Georgia is under a Level 1 of 5 risk for severe weather in anticipation of two rounds of storms, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. That risk area stretches into eastern Tennessee and nearly all of Alabama and much of Mississippi.
This storm system has already caused wind damage in Alabama, where a Level 2 risk was in place, overnight Tuesday.
“There’s been some wind damage with this — lot of trees down and power lines down in the Birmingham area,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said. “This is weakening as it surges toward North Georgia but holding together enough to at least give us some risk of a strong storm.”
The first line of storms is hitting the area as the sun rises and should clear out by around noon. The second round will arrive later this evening, around 7 p.m., Monahan predicts. Storm conditions should lessen overnight and make way for sunnier skies Wednesday.
Just under 3 inches of rain are possible in some isolated locations in far North Georgia, according to the Weather Service. But most areas can expect between 1 and 2 inches or less.
This week, travel experts predict highways will be at their most congested from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and then again Sunday evening. Monahan cautioned motorists to be prepared Tuesday for “some significant slowdowns” on the roads.
Heavy rain and damaging winds pose the biggest concern with this system, he said.
And, “when you have a big change in temperature, like we’re going to see today over the next couple of days across North Georgia, the brief tornado risk is overall low, but not zero,” Monahan warned.
Tuesday’s rain, while heavy at times, shouldn’t lead to much flooding because of drought conditions across the state, according to NWS. We will need several days of sustained rain to pull us out of that drought.
A cold front is pushing the storms across the state Tuesday. That will bring chillier air just in time for Thanksgiving.
After several days with highs in the 70s, peak temperatures will drop into the upper 60s on Wednesday and stay in the 50-degree range Thursday through the weekend.
