Storms brought heavy rain and damaging wind to the metro Atlanta area Friday night, Channel 2 reported.
9:40 p.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect until 10 p.m. for parts of DeKalb, Clayton, Henry, Rockdale and Newton counties.
8:46 p.m.: Storms are moving east into the south metro area now, Channel 2 reported.
8:23 p.m.: A severe thunderstorm warning is in effect until 9 p.m. for parts of Gwinnett, Forsyth, Banks, Dawson, Hall and Jackson counties.
8:00 p.m.: In north Fulton County, storm clouds are coming in and were seen over Ga. 400.
7:43 p.m.: Tree and wires are reported down on Stilesboro Road south of Due West Road in Cobb County, according to WSB Traffic Troopers. Reportedly, the road is shut down and power is out in area.
7:34 p.m.: Damaging wind likely in Cobb, Channel 2 reported -- gusts of 60-plus mph.
7:11 p.m.: Report of a tree down in Cherokee County on Reinhardt College Parkway almost to Salacoa Road.
6:42 p.m.: Storms will be moving through metro Atlanta about 9-10 p.m. and will diminish after then, according to Channel 2.
6:16 p.m.: A power line is reported down in Rome, and there are damaging winds moving into Bartow and Gordon counties, according to Channel 2. There's a new severe thunderstorm warning for Polk and Haralson counties until 7 p.m.
UPDATE [5:40 p.m.] A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Chattooga, Floyd, Bartow, Gordon and Polk counties in northwest Georgia until 6:15 p.m., with wind gusts of up to 60 mph reported, Channel 2 Action News reported.
ATLANTA FORECAST
Today: Scattered storms. High: 88
Tonight: More storms likely. Low: 72
Tomorrow: Showers and storms. High: 83
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
ORIGINAL STORY: Metro Atlanta has a few more hours of dry weather before the remnants of Tropical Depression Cindy fire up storms later, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Cindy, a former tropical storm that swept moist Gulf air over the South, is expected to bring heavy rainfall, flash flooding and higher river and lake levels to parts of Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia on Friday, The Associated Press reported.
“All of that energy is going to scoot by North Georgia,” Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said. “That could be enough, with the moisture we have and the heating of the day, to fire up showers and storms — some of which could turn severe.”
Northwest Georgia has the highest chance of severe storms, and a tornado watch was issued at 1:15 p.m. for multiple counties in that part of the state. The watch is scheduled to expire at 9 p.m.
Metro Atlanta faces a marginal risk of heavy rain, damaging winds, frequent lightning and isolated tornadoes, according to Channel 2.
“It’s still well away from us,” Minton said. “It’s going to be a few hours before we start to see that activity.”
Rain should hit northwest Georgia about 5 p.m., Minton said.
“By 7 o’clock, it is moving toward the Atlanta area over the northwestern suburbs, continuing through the midnight hour into Saturday morning,” Minton said.
The National Weather Service has already issued a flash flood watch for the metro area. The watch is set to last through 8 p.m. Saturday.
Unlike a flash flood warning, it does not mean flooding has been spotted or is imminent in the area under the advisory.
Currently, it’s 87 degrees in Atlanta. The high is expected to reach 88, which is also the average high for this time of year, Channel 2 reported.
