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Friday morning forecast
Rain moves in, cooling things down.
ATLANTA - North Georgia is currently caught in a weather "tug-of-war" as record-shattering warmth battles an approaching line of storms and a looming blast of arctic air. While the humidity and spring-like temperatures are immediate, a significant shift is expected to reach the region by tonight.
What they're saying:
FOX 5 Storm Team meteorologist Joanne Feldman is tracking "remarkable" temperatures for mid-February. "It’s 70 degrees in Atlanta," Feldman noted early Friday. "And we’re not alone. It’s also 70 in Covington, Newnan, and LaGrange, and even reaching the 70s in Rome."
While the air feels more like May, the radar remains active. A line of showers and thunderstorms is slicing through the region, bringing the threat of lightning and heavy downpours for the first half of the day.
"This line of showers will be moving southeastward over the next several hours," Feldman explained. "Areas that may not have gotten rain yet will have a better chance of doing so between now and a couple of hours after sunrise."
The front is moving quickly; by midday, people on the north side of town should see mostly sunshine. While some clouds may linger south of I-20, the entire region can expect a very warm afternoon with highs soaring into the mid-70s.
What's next:
Unseasonable warmth will persist into Saturday, but the dry weather will not hold. Another round of isolated to scattered thundershowers is expected during the morning hours. However, the threat of severe weather appears to be shifting.
"Saturday’s rain is isolated to scattered, with a better chance of storms tomorrow afternoon over Middle Georgia, where there could be some severe weather," Feldman said. "But I think that will avoid our viewing area. We’ll have an afternoon of sunshine and just brace for the cold."
Dig deeper:
The most dramatic part of the forecast arrives Saturday night as a powerful cold front sweeps through. Sunday will be windy and much colder, with highs struggling to reach 50 degrees.
The true chill arrives Monday morning, with temperatures plummeting into the 20s. Even with full sunshine, Monday afternoon will only reach the low 40s, with a biting wind making it feel significantly colder.
"We have those colder, below-freezing 20s to start early next week," Feldman warned. "Even so, when we look at the entirety of next week, it’s still going to be a warmer-than-average trend. We just have to get through that little speed bump."
The Source: This is a FOX 5 Atlanta original report written using information from the FOX 5 Storm Team forecast.