The National Weather Service has issued a statement advising residents in the west Georgia area to expect isolated thunderstorms throughout tonight. NWS meteorologists say there is potential for damaging winds across west Georgia, as well as isolated tornados.
According to the NWS, residents can expect occasional lightning, gusty winds and heavy rain throughout the night. The most severe weather throughout the metro Atlanta area is expected to hit Carroll, Douglas, and Coweta counties beginning this evening.
The NWS statement also noted that isolated severe thunderstorms and flooding will be possible.
“There’s a warm front that’s moving in from the southern part of the state, which is bringing heavy amounts of rain and chances for severe weather tonight,” said Tim Padgett, director of Carroll County Emergency Management Agency. “We’ve notified public safety and our support agencies for tonight. We’re standing by to see what happens. Hopefully we will be prepared.”
In contrast to tonight’s stormy weather, NWS meteorologists say there is a chance for wintery precipitation later this week from Friday night into Saturday night.
“Right now, we are certain that there will be an arctic air mass moving into the Carrollton area at the end of next week that will drop our temperatures into the 20s and low 30s,” said Kyle Thiem, a meteorologist with the NWS. “There is the chance that we could see some wintery precipitation along with the arctic air mass beginning on Friday night.”
Thiem said the NWS currently predicts a 20 percent chance of snow on Friday night into Saturday.
“We have several models hinting at the potential for winter weather toward the weekend,” said Thiem. “We’ve had multiple models hinting at the chance for snow, but as of right now, none of our models are in agreement on when, or where it might hit.”
According to Thiem, the NWS is not calling for any accumulations at this time.
