North Georgia is in for a soggy stretch of weather, and Atlanta News First has declared a First Alert Weather Day for Tuesday as another round of heavy rain and thunderstorms moves into the region.
Scattered thunderstorms that developed across the metro on Monday are expected to linger well into the overnight hours, with the bigger concern being flash flooding. Slow-moving storm clusters could drop 2 to 4 inches of rain in isolated spots, according to the Atlanta News First forecast team.
The atmosphere over the region is extremely moist — moisture levels are in the top 10% for mid-July, which is helping to fuel the slow, drenching storms.
What to expect Monday evening into Tuesday
While there is no organized risk of severe storms, some of the cells could be on the stronger side and produce 40 to 50 mph wind gusts, heavy downpours, and frequent lightning.
As storms wind down overnight, patchy fog is expected — with some areas seeing locally dense fog in spots that received heavy rainfall during the day. Drivers are urged to use extra caution on the roads early Tuesday morning.
The same stormy pattern carries over into Tuesday afternoon. Atmospheric moisture will remain very high — between 2 and 2.4 inches of precipitable water — and storm energy (CAPE) values of 2,000 to 2,500 J/kg will fuel another active round of numerous showers and thunderstorms.
If you encounter a flooded roadway: turn around, don’t drown.
Pattern shifts midweek
The good news: the pattern gradually improves heading into mid-week.
The organized low-pressure system responsible for this week’s heavy rain is expected to weaken and drift westward toward Texas by Wednesday, allowing Georgia to trend back toward a more typical summer thunderstorm pattern — with isolated to scattered afternoon and evening storms rather than widespread coverage.
High temperatures will climb from the mid-to-upper 80s on Wednesday back into the low-to-mid 90s by Friday, holding there through the weekend.
With heat index values approaching the 100s and overnight lows dropping only into the 70s, a Heat Advisory could be needed later in the week — especially south and east of the Atlanta metro.
For now, the message is clear: keep an umbrella and a way to receive weather alerts nearby through Tuesday afternoon.
