After a balmy Thursday with highs near 75, expect another round of storms to move through north Georgia late Thursday night and early Friday morning.
"We could see storms beginning after midnight, but more than likely for the morning rush hour," according to Channel 2 Action News chief meteorologist Glenn Burns.
The storms probably won't be severe, said Burns, and chances are slim for another tornado such as the one that damaged dozens of homes in Floyd County on Wednesday night.
One death was blamed on the EF-1 tornado, with winds of 95 mph, that touched down between 9:30 and 9:45 p.m. in Floyd County, according to the National Weather Service.
The initial touchdown was in the city of Rome just west of the Maplewood subdivision, the Weather Service said.
The tornado left a nearly two-mile-long path of destruction along Kingston Highway and Freeman Ferry Road. It damaged between 50 and 100 homes and left about 2,000 residences and businesses without power much of the day, authorities said.
Channel 2's Storm Prediction Center has outlined much of north and northwest Georgia in a slight risk for severe storms overnight, with a 2 percent chance of a tornado, Burns said. Thursday night, the area was expanded to include regions to the south and west of metro Atlanta.
"I think any [storms] that do occur could produce gusty winds, hail, and even an isolated tornado," he said.
Burns said to expect a slow-moving cold front to arrive Friday morning, with low temps of about 54 and highs of 61. The weekend forecast is for dry weather, with highs in the mid- to upper 50s and lows in the mid-30s.
--Dispatch editor Angel K. Brooks contributed to this report.
About the Author
