After deadly weekend storms, metro Atlanta is getting smacked with another round of severe weather Monday.
While it isn’t expected to be as powerful as the system that struck Saturday, most of Georgia is still under a Level 2 of 5 risk for severe storms to begin the workweek. Scattered storms started rumbling across the metro area by late morning, but the highest threat for severe weather is expected to come between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
“I don’t think it will be quite as widespread as what we saw on Saturday,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brian Monahan said.
The weekend’s storms left thousands without power and claimed the life of at least one man in northwest Georgia after a tree fell on his car as he drove along Ga. 51 in Banks County. Jason Keith Payne, 56, died at the scene.
By noon Monday, power had been restored to tens of thousands of customers statewide who lost it during the weekend storms. Fewer than 5,000 customers of Georgia Power and Georgia EMC, which represents the cooperatives that primarily serve rural parts of the state, remained in the dark.
Monday’s storms bring the “possibility of 60 mph or greater winds, low risk of hail and a low, but not zero, risk of a brief, spin-up tornado,” Monahan said.
The system is marching toward Georgia from the west. Multiple waves of scattered storms are expected throughout the afternoon, with a stronger, more organized storm wall reaching the Peach State by nightfall as a cold front creeps in. However, the exact timing of its arrival is shaky.
There should be some breaks in the clouds that allow sunshine to peek through between storms, the Weather Service predicts. While that may be welcome news, the heat is what will create the potential for strong storms as the warmer air clashes with the cold front.
But, “if we see a lot of shower and thunderstorm activity ahead of the (main) line (of storms), it might create a large enough cold pool to weaken it as it moves in,” the NWS explained.
Drier conditions are in the forecast for Tuesday, though there is still a 30% chance of scattered storms. Highs will stay in the low 80s before creeping back into the mid to upper 80s as the week advances. And each day this week brings at least some chance of isolated to scattered storms.
» For a detailed forecast, visit www.ajc.com/weather.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @WSBTraffic on X.
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