ATLANTA FORECAST
Thursday: High: 75
Thursday night: Low: 59
Friday: High: 64
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
[9:30 p.m.]: The severe thunderstorm warning has expired for Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb and Paulding counties, according to the Weather Service. No severe weather warnings remain in Georgia, but a tornado watch continues until 1 a.m. for Bartow, Carroll, Douglas, Floyd, Haralson, Heard, Paulding and Polk counties.
[9:15 p.m.]: The severe thunderstorm warning for Gordon, Haralson and Polk counties has been canceled, the Weather Service said. Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb and Paulding counties remain under a severe thunderstorm warning until 9:30 p.m.
[8:52 p.m.]: The severe thunderstorm warning for Bartow, Cherokee, Paulding and Polk counties has been extended until 9:30 p.m., and Cobb County has also been added to the warning, the Weather Service said.
[8:43 p.m.]: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Bartow, Cherokee and Gordon counties until 9:15 p.m., the Weather Service said. The severe thunderstorm warning for Haralson, Paulding and Polk counties has also been extended until 9:15 p.m.
[8:28 p.m.]: The tornado warning for Floyd and Polk counties has been canceled, the Weather Service said.
[8:16 p.m.]: The severe thunderstorm warning for Floyd County has expired, but the severe thunderstorm warning continues for Haralson and Polk counties until 9 p.m., according to the Weather Service. Polk and Floyd counties remain under a tornado warning until 8:45 p.m.
[8:11 p.m.]: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Haralson County until 9 p.m., and Polk County's thunderstorm warning has been extended until 9 p.m., the Weather Service said. Polk and Floyd counties remain under a tornado warning until 8:45 p.m.
[8:03 p.m.]: A tornado warning has been issued for Floyd and Polk counties until 8:45 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
UPDATE [7:42 p.m.]: The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Bartow, Carroll, Douglas, Floyd, Haralson, Heard, Paulding and Polk counties until 1 a.m. Polk and Floyd are also under a severe thunderstorm warning until 8:15 p.m.
ORIGINAL: As Thursday's evening commute wraps up, Atlanta drivers can look forward to a break from the road tonight.
However, with a wave of storms moving toward North Georgia overnight, Friday's morning commute is expected to be wet and messy, Channel 2 Action News reported. Make sure to keep an eye on the traffic conditions before hitting the road, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center advised.
The first wave of storms is approaching the northwest Georgia border, and it’s already produced a tornado near Oneonta, Ala., which is about 60 miles west of Georgia, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said. The severe weather risk is minimal for North Georgia.
The bulk of the rain is expected overnight, which Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said should complicate the last morning commute of the work week.
“While a lot of us are sleeping, rain and storms are coming through North Georgia,” Monahan said. “There will be some wet weather around for the morning commute (Friday). Then the front passes by, and it really sets us up for a nice finish on Friday and a beautiful weekend across North Georgia.”
An 80 percent chance of rain should diminish through the day Friday before North Georgia dries out, he said. When it’s all said and done, some spots could see up to an inch of additional rainfall.
“That won’t help lake levels,” Monahan said. “That won’t help some of our stressed water systems.”
It will help allergy sufferers and wash away the pollen, however. Thursday’s count was in the high range at 139 particles per cubic meter of air, according to Atlanta Allergy and Asthma, which tracks daily pollen levels.
The storms are being brought by a cold front, which is part of the bomb cyclone system that’s been hitting the middle part of the country. The Plains and Midwest have been enduring blizzard conditions and extreme weather as a result of the system, Monahan said.
Temperatures should drop back closer to seasonal norms after a warm Thursday that nearly reached 75 degrees.
The weekend should be dry and sunny with afternoon highs near 60, according to the latest forecast.
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