Isolated storms today; waves of potentially severe weather tonight

Brace yourself for waves of potentially severe storms across metro Atlanta late Wednesday into Thursday.

It’ll be a warm Wednesday, with morning temperatures already in the 70s. It’ll be humid and breezy this afternoon, with temps in the upper 80s, but most of us should stay dry. There’s just a 30% chance of storms through the first half of the day.

“Any one of those (storms), in the heating of the afternoon — and it is going to be a hot day for this time of year — any one of those will have the chance to have some strong wind gusts or some hail,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.

But the main line of storms to watch will arrive late tonight closer to midnight. It will be blowing in from the northwest in Tennessee, where the highest risk for severe storms exists. The system will weaken as it reaches Georgia, but it’s still creating a Level 2 of 5 risk for severe weather in North Georgia, Monahan said. Closer to the metro area, we will be under a Level 1 risk.

⛈️ Severe Wx Possible Wed night into Thursday⛈️

We are expecting a strong to severe line of thunderstorms to affect north and central GA with the main threats being:

🌬️ Damaging wind gusts
🧊 Hail up to 1"
🌪️Brief tornado
🌊 Minor flooding in low lying areas#gawx pic.twitter.com/NofrLlOPK2
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) May 7, 2024

The greatest impact locally will be damaging wind gusts and hail, plus minor flooding in low-lying areas. But North Georgia has a 2% chance of seeing a brief, spin-up tornado within 25 miles of any given point, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Storm Prediction Center.

The severe weather threat is expected to extend further south on Thursday with another round of storms rolling in during the late morning hours. The main concern then will again be for damaging winds, hail and a brief tornado.

Behind the storms is a cold front that will arrive late Thursday night and usher in cooler air that will dry us out and pave the way for a mild, sunny weekend just in time for Mother’s Day.