(Update: 9:05 p.m.) The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for several metro Atlanta counties, including Clayton and Fulton. The alert will remain in effect until 9:45 p.m.
Weather experts had projected severe storms on Tuesday with the potential for damaging wind gusts. Other metro Atlanta counties had been under a severe thunderstorm warning earlier in the evening.
As of 9:30 p.m., Georgia Power said more than 98,800 customers across the state were without power. Georgia EMCs reported more than 108,000 outages as of that same period, including more than 72,000 in metro Atlanta.
Original article:
Metro Atlanta is finally getting a bit of a break from the rain on Tuesday.
More areas should see some sunshine this afternoon, but we’ll still have some scattered and potentially severe storms around.
“They’re going to come a little bit of a punch again this afternoon,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
Much of the state is under a Level 1 of 5 risk for severe weather, with damaging wind gusts being the main concern.
“Keep in mind, as wet as it’s been, the ground is saturated,” Monahan said. “It won’t take a whole lot of wind to bring down some trees and powerlines today.”
The flooding risk is lower today, as less rainfall is expected across the metro area, he added. While the rain has been a welcomed relief to drought conditions affecting much of North Georgia, the break is also gladly received. This month has been the wettest on record in nearly 20 years, Monahan said.
“At the airport ... where those records are kept, over 13 inches of rain so far this month ... that makes this month the wettest single month since July 2005,” he said.
But less rain today means higher temperatures. Highs will climb back into the 90s this afternoon, and highs will stay in the 90s at least through early next week.
Higher temps mean a higher heat index, especially with how much rain has fallen in the past couple of weeks. Humidity is high, which will bump up the feels-like temps into the triple digits.
South of the metro area, a heat advisory will go into effect starting at 11 a.m. and will last through 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. Heat index values there could reach 107 degrees.
Heat advisories take effect when heat index values — an accurate measure of how hot it really feels taking both air temperature and relative humidity into account — top 105 degrees. Under those conditions, the body can’t cool itself efficiently because perspiration doesn’t easily evaporate in high humidity. Heatstroke sets in when your body temperature exceeds 103 degrees, which can cause damage to the brain, kidneys, muscles, and even death.
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