The risk of tornadoes in North Georgia has diminished, but there is still a chance of strong storms Thursday morning.
Only Upson County remains under a tornado watch after other watches were canceled by the National Weather Service overnight. More thunderstorms are possible Thursday, and Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said any could intensify as they move across the Alabama border into west Georgia.
“Between now and about 10 a.m. we still need to stay weather aware,” he said. “The severe weather threat has really diminished across North Georgia, certainly compared to what we were thinking even 12 hours ago.”
Alabama experienced at least 15 possible tornadoes during a severe weather outbreak, but a wedge of cold air played in North Georgia’s favor. While several inches of rain made it across the border, no tornadoes were reported locally overnight.
“Those long-tracked tornado-producing thunderstorms in Mississippi and Alabama moved into that wedge of cold air and just kind of faded away,” Channel 2 chief meteorologist Glenn Burns said. “The wedge is breaking, and now the air is becoming increasingly unstable across North Georgia.”
Credit: spink
Credit: spink
Burns said his main concern is the possibility for storms to develop along and north of a cold front sweeping the region Thursday morning. Shower and storm activity is expected to increase between 6 and 8 a.m., according to Channel 2.
Winds are also expected to intensify as the cold front moves away. All of North Georgia is under a wind advisory from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., with gusts up to 35 mph possible.
“Strong gusty winds here, and we’re going to see winds producing some power outages, maybe some downed trees,” Burns said. “We’ve had a lot of rain here on saturated ground.”
The bulk of the rain has fallen in northwest Georgia, which saw up to 3 inches of accumulation overnight, as well as several flood warnings.
Multiple metro Atlanta school districts switched to online learning Thursday because of the threat of severe weather. Systems in Atlanta and Cobb, DeKalb, Cherokee and Henry counties are conducting the school day online, while Marietta City Schools canceled classes altogether.
Emory University is delaying its opening until 11 a.m. for in-person classes, but online classes were continuing as scheduled.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
With wet pavement and the potential for fallen trees, the Thursday morning drive could be a tough one. Multiple crashes have been reported on metro Atlanta interstates as of 6 a.m., according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Authorities have cleared the crashes quickly, and there are no major delays on any interstates.
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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