Georgia damaging wind gusts were the main concern Monday night as the National Weather Service kept much of North Georgia under a severe thunderstorm watch until 11 p.m. A potent line of storms was moving through the region with heavy rain and an isolated tornado risk.
Johnathan Stacey of the FOX 5 Storm Team said the watch had expanded east to Union, Towns, Habersham, and White counties. He added that the skies would flare up again around 10 o'clock, with the metro area getting in on the action as the line moved in during the darkness of night.
North Georgia county list
The watch covered part of Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens, Towns, Union, Walker, White, and Whitfield counties. Forecasters put the severe weather threat at level 2 out of 5, with the primary concern centered on intense straight-line wind gusts.
Those winds could down tree limbs, snap power lines, and cause isolated power outages. Most areas in the storm paths could expect quick rainfall amounts between a half-inch and three-quarters of an inch, while training storms could dump higher totals in localized spots.
Atlanta metro timing
Although the main energy was concentrated along the state line, Stacey said the metro area was not being skipped. He said another round could reach the urban core around 10 o'clock, which keeps the evening commute and late-night travel inside the same storm window.
The severe weather threat was expected to move east and diminish entirely during the early morning hours on Tuesday. A drier airmass was expected to settle over North Georgia behind the cold front, leaving the strongest wind and rain threat behind once the line passed through.
FOX 5 Storm Team watch
The FOX 5 Storm Team was tracking the storms as they crossed North Georgia Monday night, and Stacey's guidance pointed to the narrow window when the metro area could still see another flare-up. For residents in the watch area, the immediate step was to stay alert through 11 p.m. and be ready for sudden wind gusts and brief heavy rain before the system exits east.
