Severe thunderstorms possible Sunday across Georgia
Thunderstorms rolling into Georgia will bring a risk of severe weather, especially on Georgia’s east side, while scattered storms in the metro Atlanta area popped up Sunday afternoon.
The line of storms was most severe in areas near Macon and Athens, according to the National Weather Service. The agency issued severe thunderstorm watches and warnings, alerting residents of damaging winds and a chance of hail as they moved through in the late afternoon.
North Georgia and metro Atlanta are at a Level 1 out of 5 risk of severe weather from scattered thunderstorms Sunday until 11 p.m., the Weather Service reported.
The heaviest rain moved through in the afternoon, but storms are still possible through the early hours Monday morning. Some areas in DeKalb and Rockdale counties were warned before 4 p.m. of “40 to 50 mph wind, pea size hail and frequent cloud to ground lightning,” according to the agency.
“Some storms may become strong to severe and capable of producing gusty to damaging winds, frequent lightning, large hail, and localized flash flooding concerns,” the NWS bulletin for central and North Georgia says.
The storms temporarily impacted some flights departing to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The weather also disrupted midafternoon activities for more than an hour at EchoPark Speedway south of Atlanta, where the Quaker State 400 is set to start at 7 p.m., according to the speedway’s website.