Rain is falling across North Georgia on Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Zeta’s arrival, but it is mainly light stuff.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said a little wet weather “is nothing we can’t handle." There is no thunder or lightning expected with the rain Wednesday, which can become heavy at times, according to Channel 2.
That could all change Thursday when the remnants of Zeta burst through Georgia overnight.
“We’re going to have a three- to four-hour window — let’s say about 4 a.m. tomorrow morning to about 8 a.m. tomorrow morning — where the weather is going to be really tough around here,” Monahan said. “That’s going to be timed right through your morning commute.”
Georgia could experience torrential rain, damaging wind gusts in excess of 44 mph and even tornadoes, he said. Several metro Atlanta counties along Zeta’s predicted track are under a tropical storm watch, which has not been issued locally since Irma and Nate during the 2017 hurricane season.
“I do not expect this to be quite like what we saw with Irma a few years ago,” Monahan said.
Ahead of the storm, Monahan said scattered showers and downpours will continue Wednesday, but it is not likely to rain all day. A flash flood watch goes into effect at 8 a.m. for all of North Georgia, according to the National Weather Service. The watch is scheduled to expire Thursday evening.
Zeta is expected to make landfall along the southeast Louisiana coast later Wednesday. As it moves across Alabama, Monahan said it will likely weaken to a tropical storm before it arrives in Georgia early Thursday morning.
Those north of I-20 will see the most impacts from the system, he said. According to Channel 2, up to four inches of rain could fall on the Northside by the end of the day Thursday.
Monahan said Zeta will be rough on Georgia, but it will be brief.
“It blasts on through,” he said. “By 8, 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, the worst of the rain has passed.”
By Friday, it’s all over, he said. North Georgia will be dry with mild temperatures in the mid-60s in time for Halloween festivities Saturday, according to the latest forecast.
The rain Wednesday is making a mess of the morning commute, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
Multiple crashes have been reported before 6 a.m., including several on the Southside along I-75. The Traffic Center has already issued three red alerts for interstate shutdowns Wednesday, traffic reporter Mark Arum said.
“If you have the option today to telecommute, work from home, I would do it,” Arum said.
» 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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