Overview: Potential Tropical Cyclone #3 is expected to become Tropical Depression #3 later today and could become Tropical Storm Claudette before moving onshore along the Gulf Coast tonight. Regardless of the extent of development, heavy and/or persistent rainfall is expected across much of Georgia on Saturday and Sunday.
Timing: The timing of this system has sped up quite a bit, and it now appears the impacts will occur in Georgia mainly on Saturday and Sunday as opposed to Sunday and Monday. Rainfall associated with this system should start to move into western portions of Georgia later in the morning on Saturday and start to overspread much of the rest of Georgia through Saturday afternoon and evening. Showers and storms will continue through Sunday morning and afternoon, but should start to diminish and move out of Georgia later in the evening on Sunday.
Impacts: Rainfall totals from this system on Saturday and Sunday are forecast to be in the range of 2-4 inches for most of Georgia, with 4-6 inches possible in west-central Georgia. This could create some flash flooding and river flooding issues, particularly in west-central and southwestern Georgia. The Weather Prediction Center has outlined much of this area in a Moderate Risk for Excessive Rainfall (level 3 of 4) for Saturday morning through Sunday morning. A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening for much of west-central Georgia and Metro Atlanta. There is also a Marginal Risk (level 1 of 5) for severe weather from the tropical system this weekend, as any storms that develop could be capable of producing brief tornadoes. Finally, although tropical storm force winds are not expected in Georgia, wind gusts could range from 20-30 mph as the tropical system moves through.
Next Week: A cold front will approach Georgia on Monday before moving through on Tuesday and Wednesday. This will bring an additional 1-2 inches of rainfall, mainly in northern Georgia, which could exacerbate any flooding issues that arise due to the tropical system this weekend. Rain chances will decrease throughout the day on Wednesday but should linger through the remainder of the week.
