Multiple GA Counties Under High Fire Danger Caution, Storms Forecast

GEORGIA — Dry air prompted a high fire danger caution for multiple Georgia counties Wednesday while a frontal boundary moving into the metro Atlanta area from the Gulf is expected to bring storms before sunrise Thursday, weather officials told Patch.

People are encouraged to be careful when burning outside, said Vaughn Smith, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Peachtree City office. The caution is set to last through Wednesday evening. The full list of affected counties can be found here.

"If a fire does get started, like a wildfire, it could be dangerous," Smith said.

The anticipated storms Thursday are causing portions of metro Atlanta to be placed at a Level 1 marginal risk, including the City of Atlanta and the eastern, western and southern suburbs. The northern metro area is at a general risk.

The marginal risk includes a 2 percent chance for one or two tornadoes, Smith said. If tornadoes do occur, they are expected to be fairly weak.

The boundary will be arriving from the southwest and will keep moving northeast, he said.

Weather officials are not expecting the storms to be severe, but they should continue throughout the day and into Friday. They are expected to exit the area during the late afternoon/early evening hours Friday, Smith said.

Low temperatures on Thursday are forecast to be around 5o degrees with highs around 70 degrees. Friday temps are expected to reach lows of mid- to upper-50s with highs in the mid-70s.

Smith said no strong winds are forecast to occur with the storms, primarily staying in the 10-15 mph range; however, they could possibly climb as high as 20 mph.

He advised people driver slower should wind speeds rise as trees can fall due to saturated soils.

"It doesn’t really take a lot," Smith said.

Saturday during the day hours should be dry, with temps in the mid-70s; however, another frontal system is anticipated to enter metro Atlanta Saturday night into Sunday morning. Showers could potentially happen during the day Sunday and move out at nightfall.

Temps for Sunday may fall into the low 60s with highs forecast to be in the mid-70s to near 80 degrees, Smith said, noting the weather is typical for springtime in Georgia.