A day after strong storms barreled through the area, Wednesday is bringing much quieter weather to metro Atlanta.
But don’t get too comfortable. More severe weather is expected on Friday, and those storms have the potential to be more damaging, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
As for today, though, “our weather story — just kind of a cold day this afternoon,” he said.
Temperatures are in the 30s Wednesday morning, and with some gusty winds still whipping, it feels more like the 20s. It’ll be windy through the morning, but it should let up as the day goes on, and the high will top out in the upper 40s this afternoon with a mix of sun and clouds.
Clouds should clear out as night falls, setting us up for a dry and mostly sunny and mild Thursday. Those clouds thicken late Thursday into Friday morning.
As we go into Friday afternoon, a warm front lifts, ushering in the possibility for strong and severe storms, Monahan said, possibly even stronger than Tuesday’s storms.
Areas south of I-20 will be under a Level 3 of 5 risk for severe weather, he said. North of the interstate will be under a Level 2 of 5 risk.
“While there will be less rain with this system, the risk for strong and severe storms is higher, and it’s farther north,” Monahan said. “This (threat level) was down in middle and South Georgia yesterday ... so a much higher risk of strong and severe storms farther north.”
For context, areas closer to the city were under a Level 1 risk for severe weather on Tuesday, while the south side of the metro was at a Level 2. The storms were still damaging, bringing down trees that killed one person in Clayton County, causing several crashes on slick roads during the morning commute and several flight delays or cancellations. By late night, leftover rain then turned to light snowfall in the North Georgia mountains.
Some flood warnings are still in place on Wednesday for metro area waterways and will remain in effect through Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Friday’s storms are expected to reach the area around the mid to late afternoon. The main concern is for rain, damaging wind gusts and a higher risk for tornadoes.
Things should clear out in time for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be cool and dry ahead of more rain next week.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
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