Georgia severe weather: Strong storms continue to move through
The FOX 5 Storm Team is tracking another round of storms moving across the region late Wednesday.
Forecasts call for showers and thunderstorms from southern portions of Alabama and Georgia into northern Florida, where damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes are possible.
The National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch that covers counties along and south of Interstate 20 and more in north Georgia until 10 p.m. It has been allowed to expire.
The watch includedNewton County, Henry County, Clayton County, Fayette County, Coweta County, Heard County, Troup County, Meriwether County, Pike County, Lamar County, Spalding County, Upson County, Jasper County and Putnam County. In North Georgia, the watch extends to Dade, Walker, Chattooga, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Fannin, Gilmer and Gordon counties.
North Georgia, including metro Atlanta, has an enhanced threat of severe weather: damaging winds, possible tornadoes, hail and heavy rain.
Forecasts indicate a new line to enter the northern area of the state while the first line of moisture exits to the east. By 8 p.m. the line bisected I-75 between Atlanta and Chattanooga, with heavy rain extending from Ellijay and southwest to Cedartown.
The storm could advance southeast and reach metro Atlanta by midnight.
A strong thunderstorm impacted southern parts of Carroll, Douglas and Fulton counties. The storms are forecasted to move east along the I-20 corridor through 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Rain was drenching Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 4 p.m. Cameras showed heavy fog and water on the runway.
The threat for tornadoes will continue through midnight across metro Atlanta.
The level 3 risk for severe storms covers the entire viewing area.
GEORGIA SEVERE WEATHER: RECAP OF TUESDAY STORM DAMAGE
The primary concern for round two will be damaging wind gusts, but an isolated spin-up tornado cannot be ruled out at this time. Metro Atlanta and communities north of the city are currently under an enhanced risk for severe weather for Wednesday's event.
The combination of rain from these two storm systems, up to 3 inches of rainfall in less than 48 hours, increases the risk for localized flash floods.
Threat of heavy rain, flash flooding
Not only is severe weather expected, but there could also be areas of heavy rain across the South through midweek.
A broad area of 1 to 3 inches of rainfall could drench areas from the lower Mississippi Valley to the southern Appalachians and northern Florida.
Locally higher amounts over 3 inches are possible where any heavier bands of rain stall for a period of a few hours or longer.
While this should help to alleviate ongoing drought conditions from the Southern Plains to parts of Louisiana, there could be instances of flash flooding in portions of the Southeast and the southern Appalachians, where soils remain saturated after a wetter-than-average March.
Active stretch for tornadoes
While the frequency of tornadoes typically increases during the spring, this recent stretch has been more active than usual.
A record-breaking 249 reports of tornadoes were tallied in March, besting the previous record of 225 reports from March 2012. That's more than 2.5 times the monthly average. Sixteen different states had at least one tornado report last month.
Deadly storms in Georgia
Wednesday's storm system comes a day after a suspected tornado ripped part of the roof from the Bryan County courthouse and damaged homes in nearby neighborhoods. One woman was killed and several people were injured in the county, which i s not far from Savannah.
In a message to those impacted by the severe weather, Gov. Brian Kemp said his office will do everything to respond to their needs.
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FOX Weather contributed to this report.