Tornado risk as storms overnight, early Sunday bring severe weather threat

“We’re mainly going to see our highest threat across our western counties,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said.

Credit: National Weather Service

Credit: National Weather Service

The incoming conditions are due to a strong cold front that will bring heavy rain Saturday night and into Sunday. Rainfall will move from northwest to southeast.

Before the cold front reaches metro Atlanta, rainfall totals from Saturday were expected to reach about 1 inch. The additional rainfall on Sunday should add an additional half inch in east-central Georgia and just over 1 inch across far North Georgia, the NWS said.

It’s been a rainy week and the NWS said the ground remains moist and many rivers are still elevated, which could lead to additional flooding Sunday morning.

For all of Georgia, the NWS has put a wind advisory in place from about midnight to noon Sunday. Southwest winds will be between 10 to 20 mph and gusts could reach up to 35 mph. Parts of far North Georgia and far South Georgia could see stronger gusts up to 40 and 45 mph.

Though the storms could be strong, they are expected to quickly move out. Deon said Atlanta could see some stray showers through the late morning, but the line of thunderstorms will have moved out by about 8 a.m.

The front that is bringing downpours will also welcome cooler air. A high of 61 degrees is expected Sunday, and then the high will drop to 49 degrees on Monday and 57 on Tuesday. After that, afternoon temperatures will top off in the 40s.