Some areas of metro Atlanta have already recorded more than 2 inches of rainfall Thursday, and more rain is on the way this afternoon, according to the latest forecast.
The heaviest rainfall inundated the northern suburbs for several hours Thursday morning, contributing to flooded roads, power outages and traffic delays. At 10 a.m., nearly 10,000 Georgia Power customers and almost 2,000 Georgia EMC customers were without power across the state, with the majority of outages in the metro area.
At midday, nearly 5,000 Georgia Power customers were still in the dark.
Thunderstorms prompted two ground stops for flights departing to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with the first expiring at 10 a.m. and the second at 1 p.m. Flights leaving from Atlanta can expect average delays of 30 minutes or more, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
And the rain is not done yet. As temperatures rise, all of metro Atlanta will be at a slight risk of severe weather when a cold front mixes with hot, humid air and creates the conditions for summertime storms, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Jennifer Lopez.
Several severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for western Atlanta counties at lunchtime, and more could fire up later in the afternoon, Lopez said. The primary concerns are damaging wind gusts, which could bring down trees and power lines, and hail.
“Anywhere from Atlanta to the south, some of these storms could certainly be strong,” she said.
Lopez said the threat will increase once the sun begins to break out, energizing the atmosphere. The National Weather Service considers all of metro Atlanta to be at a Level 2 of 5 risk of a severe storm.
Things should start to quiet down again after sunset, according to Lopez.
Less rain is in Friday’s forecast, a trend that North Georgia should follow into the weekend. Lopez said those south of I-20 will have a 40% chance of a scattered shower or storm.
With fewer showers, the region should get a chance to warm up. Saturday’s projected high is 93 degrees, and Sunday’s high could reach 94 in Atlanta, according to the latest forecast.
As for Thursday, the rain and clouds should keep temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s. Atlanta’s projected high is 88 degrees.
Channel 2 Action News
Channel 2 Action News
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Credit: WSBTV Videos
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