Severe Weather Alert: Elevated risk for storms heading into late afternoon, evening hours for NWGA

The National Weather Service is warning that a swath of Georgia – from the Alabama line all the way into South Carolina – is now under a Level 2 threat of severe weather moving into the area during the afternoon hours through Thursday morning.

Peachtree City meteorologists are expecting an elevated risk of damaging winds and potential tornadic activity could start impacting the state later this afternoon as some sprinkles have already fallen around the region, but the real rainfall and threat for flooding and severe weather won’t be starting until around 4 p.m. for the counties closer to the Alabama state line, and around the evening commute time for the counties in the I-75 corridor in Northwest Georgia.

Current watches aren’t set to start until 4 p.m. , but will last through Thursday morning at 8 a.m. That flood watch will include in Northwest Georgia: Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Paulding, Polk, Walker and Whitfield counties. The flood watch includes much of North Georgia on a line from the Columbus area up to the Georgia Mountains and far northeast corners of the state.

Rainfall expected through the evening and into the overnight hours could reach up to 2.5″ in some areas, leading to excessive runoff and the threat of flooding. That’s rain that the state needs with drought conditions persisting, but still well under what is required to get Georgia back to average rainfall totals and relieve the dry conditions that have plagued the area since Fall 2025.

Temperatures before thunderstorms start developing will get into the low 80s for a high here at midweek, and lows will only dip down into the mid to upper 50s around the region. The warmer air combining with a cold front pushing into the state during the afternoon could produce the potential for hail, damaging winds and tornadoes across much of Georgia through the remainder of the day.

Expect additional watches and warnings to be announced later in the day.

Good news? The storms should blow off by mid-morning on Thursday, with highs getting back into the mid-70s on the day heading into the latter half of the week.

NWS Peachtree City does call for rain chances heading into the weekend on Friday, and increasing chances for wet weather during Mother’s Day weekend.

Check back for more information as the forecast updates into the afternoon hours.