ATLANTA — A tornado watch is in effect for much of northwest Georgia, the Atlanta metro, and east near the I-20 corridor out to Athens. This will run until 3 a.m.
Already, a radar-confirmed tornado touched down in Rockdale county near Conyers. We will monitor the potential for additional strong and severe storms overnight.
The watch includes Butts, Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Floyd, Fulton, Greene, Gordon, Haralson, Heard, Henry, Jasper, Lamar, Murray, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Paulding, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Rockdale, Spalding, Troup, Upson, Walker, Walton, and Whitfield counties.
Storms have developed to the northwest of our area and are moving into north Georgia between now and 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
An "Enhanced" Level 3 risk of severe weather includes the western side of the Atlanta metro area and the rest of north Georgia are at a Level 2 risk.
Damaging winds are likely. The tornado and hail threat has also increased. A few tornadoes are possible as the event begins, especially throughout the western half of the state.
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Timeline
Storms will first move into northwest Georgia in the late evening. They will not move into the metro area until after 9 p.m. The overnight storms will continue working through north Georgia, exiting before Wednesday morning's commute.
Wednesday 1 a.m.
As we get into the midnight hour, storms become more numerous across our area. They will be strong and severe. Damaging winds are likely within storms. There will also still be a threat of a few tornadoes and hail.
Wednesday 4 a.m.
Overnight storms continue pushing across the metro area and then eastward. Some may remain strong to severe throughout the duration of the event, with damaging winds being the primary threat. There is a lower risk of a brief tornado or hail the further east the storms get. There will be storms continuing to work across our eastern counties but they will exit the area around 4 to 6 a.m.
