UPDATE [9 p.m.]: A tornado watch has been issued for 10 northwest Georgia counties until 1 a.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The counties included in the watch are Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker and Whitfield.
Heavy rain, strong winds and potentially severe weather is expected to move through northwest Georgia toward metro Atlanta by 11 p.m., according to the latest forecast by Channel 2 Action News.
ORIGINAL STORY: North Georgia's storm threat will come in two waves Tuesday, according to Channel 2 Action News.
The first is expected to arrive in the northern part of the region later this morning and impact parts of metro Atlanta by early afternoon. Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said there is a high risk of heavy rain and a moderate risk of damaging winds with the first wave.
“It’s a low risk, but there also is a chance of an isolated, brief spinup tornado in this first round of strong storms that will mainly affect areas north of I-20,” he said.
Areas around Griffin and LaGrange will just see scattered showers at midday, he said.
After a break, the second wave arrives late Tuesday night as a warm front lifts through North Georgia. It brings another chance for isolated severe storms, according to Channel 2.
“Late tonight, overnight, and very early tomorrow morning, we'll track another risk of some strong storms,” Monahan said. “We will cut that chance off by about sunrise on Wednesday as drier air moves in, and that sets us up for a nice second half of the week.”
Monahan said there is no risk for severe weather early Tuesday morning. Downpours are moving into northwest Georgia and the mountains, and the rest of the region is seeing mist and drizzle.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
“For the ride into work, if you are headed into work today, you will need the windshield wipers,” Monahan said. “You will want the umbrella (for) increasing showers. It’s going to be a mild start to the day.”
By the afternoon, temperatures are expected to top out near 70 degrees. With mostly dry conditions Wednesday and the rest of the work week, those numbers will only rise.
Monahan said metro Atlanta can look forward to afternoon highs in the low to mid-80s on Friday and Saturday.
For the few drivers out on the roads Tuesday morning amid the coronavirus crisis, visibility could be an issue. Fog was impacting conditions inside I-285, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
While conditions remain lighter than normal, a number of crashes have been reported Tuesday. On the I-285 outer loop, there are big delays through DeKalb County after an earlier vehicle fire blocked multiple lanes.
The trouble has been moved to the right shoulder before Lavista Road but is still contributing to backups, the Traffic Center reported.
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
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