Local

Severe Weather Coming Again Tonight, Tomorrow

April 29th, 2014

Last Update: 5:40 p.m.

Here is the weather forecast for the Atlanta area from the National Weather Service as of 4:53 p.m. Tuesday:

Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms. Some storms could be severe, with damaging winds and heavy rain. Low around 66. South wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.

Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 76. Southwest wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Wednesday night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. West wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Update 5:20 p.m.

WABE has been following today’s severe weather that is expected to continue this evening and into tomorrow. Earlier today we provided ongoing updates about power outages and school schedule changes as a result of this morning’s storm (see below).

This afternoon, WABE’s Martha Dalton spoke with meteorologist Ryan Willis of the National Weather Service’s Peachtree City office and filed the following weather update:

It’s a mixed bag in terms of tonight’s weather forecast.

From the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Ryan Willis says for now and through the next few hours it will be pretty calm, but that will change.

“The time period that we’re actually concerned about will be later on this evening into the overnight hours, and into the morning hours tomorrow. And that’s whenever … the severe weather and heavy rainfall threat increases.”

Willis says the severe weather will include heavy thunderstorms, damaging winds, possible hail and flooding.

“There is a flood watch that we’ve issued for the area through the period that we’ve had in effect for a couple of days now.”

Willis says tonight’s storms are moving in from the neighboring states of Mississippi and Alabama.

Update 2:40 p.m.

Clayton County Public Schools has announced that they are canceling all after-school activities for this afternoon due to concerns about the weather. CCPS is now the second school system to cancel, following an earlier announcement by the Atlanta Public Schools.

Update 12:50 p.m.

The National Weather Service is reporting that an EF-2 tornado with wind speeds of about 120 M.P.H. touched down in Troup and Heard Counties in west central Georgia last night around 7:00 p.m. The NWS reports that four to six houses sustained minor damage but that hundreds of trees were uprooted or snapped.

Updated 12:05 p.m.

The Atlanta Public Schools have just announced that it is canceling all after-school activities this afternoon due to weather conditions.

Updated 11:00 a.m.

Atlanta, along with north and central Georgia, should be prepared for severe weather conditions today and tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City. Heavy rain, flooding, high winds, large hail, lightning and possibly tornadoes are expected in the area between now and Thursday, May 1.

Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected today and tonight over north and central Georgia, including the Atlanta area. The region remains under a flood watch through tonight.

The possibility of severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes will continue on Wednesday.

Earlier today, a series of thunderstorms led to more than 40,000 households losing electricity, according to the Georgia Power Company. GPC reported that they had restored power to more than half of those affected by the storms, but over 18,000 customers remained without power as of 11:08 a.m.

Update 9:05 a.m.

Lull In Atlanta Storm Action: The National Weather Service radar shows there is a temporary break in the storms around the Atlanta area, but the area remains under a flood watch through late Wednesday night. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches in north Georgia and 1 to 2 inches in central Georgia are expected.

Update 8:45 a.m.

Power Outages: Georgia Power is reporting just over 40,000 outages in the state of Georgia as of 8:38 a.m. You can check the full-size GPC outage map from your PC or mobile device. You can also call to report an outage at 888-891-0938.

Update 4:57 a.m.

Delays In School Openings: The following counties have delayed school openings by two hours due to the threat of severe weather: