40 MPH Winds, Lightning Possible As Strong Storms Arrive: GA Easter Forecast

April showers are returning to Georgia, just in time for the Easter holiday, and forecasters told Patch they will start Tuesday afternoon.

Vaughn Smith is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Peachtree City office. He told Patch the daily forecast of showers and storms fall in line with a normal springtime pattern.

North and central Georgia may be drenched at least through Monday.

"This is very typical for this time of the year," he said. "This is nothing out of the ordinary."

Some strong storms could produce 30 to 40 mph winds, small hail, lightning and periods of heavy rain. The downpour was expected from 2 to 10 p.m. Tuesday.

As of mid-morning, the earliest chance for rain are Wednesday and Sunday in metro Atlanta. Both days were sitting at 50 percent probability.

Across the region, there was a 60 percent rain chance for Easter Sunday.

In case residents are planning to travel for the holiday weekend, they may want to be mindful the Georgia forecast nearly aligns with that across the U.S.

A week of severe storms could transition into drenching showers and weekend severe storms that will head East and South across the Mississippi Valley and Appalachians, AccuWeather reported.

Here is the National Weather Service's Thursday afternoon forecast for metro Atlanta:

Today: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. Southwest wind 5-10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Tonight: A 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Light south wind increasing to 5-10 mph in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 83. Southeast wind 5-10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.

Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80.

Friday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Saturday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 77.

Sunday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.

Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.