The National Weather Service (NWS) held a Special Weather Briefing today to update the possible severe weather forecast for our area overnight tonight into Friday morning  This information includes East Alabama and West Georgia.
 
The Storm Predication Center (SPC) has placed all of our area in a “Slight” risk for severe weather overnight tonight into Sunday morning.
 
Changes from the information we received yesterday:
 
 

• Now have an area of “Enhanced Risk” across Central Georgia late tonight into Friday morning
• More energy now available to fuel severe storms even into the overnight period.
• Severe storms currently being monitored in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Primary Threats with the main line of storms are:

• Damaging Winds greater than 60 mph (Some areas south of I-20 and further south could see isolated wind gusts as high at 80 mph)
• Tornadoes (Brief Spin Up along the Thunderstorm Line)
• Heavy Rain (1-2 inches) in approximately 2 hours.

Additional Concerns

• Timing of this system not quite as favorable for severe storms as the last system, but given changes in the energy showing in the models, this may not matter.
• Any shift in timing earlier or later would still allow for higher severe and tornado threat.
• Not impossible to see small hail threat on the back side of system late Friday for NW Georgia but it appears this may just be rain showers.

Timing (Subject to change as we get closer to the actual event)

• 10:00 pm to 1:00 am CDT in Eastern Alabama.
• 2:00 am to 5:00 am for West Georgia including Carroll and Haralson counties and the West Metro Atlanta area down to Columbus.
• 5:00 am to 8:00 am for East Metro Atlanta.