Tropical Storm Isaac is still several days from an expected landfall along the Gulf coast, but forecasters are saying the storm could dump heavy rain across parts of western Georgia, including metro Atlanta, by the middle of next week.
The National Hurricane Center is predicting that Isaac will make landfall early Wednesday somewhere near the Florida/Alabama line.
Jason Deese, a forecaster with the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City, said that if the storm stays on that track or shifts just to the west, rain bands could begin affecting Georgia "at regular and increasing intervals beginning Monday, but especially into Tuesday and Wednesday."
If those rain bands begin "training," or following one another, that could "allow for localized high rainfall amounts and flooding concerns," Deese said in a podcast posted on the Weather Service's Facebook page. "In addition, an increased tornado risk would be present area-wide."
If the storm eventually makes landfall further east along the Florida panhandle, "we would continue to see numerous rain bands over a multi-day period, keeping the flood risk high," Deese said. "Still being on the right side of the storm but closer to the circulation, the area would experience a significant tornado risk."
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz is forecasting partly cloudy skies through the weekend, with only a slight chance of isolated showers.
Weekend highs will be in the mid-80s, with overnight lows around 70 degrees, Nitz said.
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