Watches Issued Across GA Ahead Of Hurricane Isaias

EDITOR'S NOTE: Gov. Brian Kemp's office told Patch state officials are planning to share an update sometime Thursday.

Updated 1:34 p.m.

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With Hurricane Isaias set to make landfall and hammer the Southeast this week, Georgia forecasters have issued a flood watch and tropical storm watch ahead of the menacing storm.

A high wind watch will also take effect in Georgia after Isaias, the first hurricane to form during the 2026 Atlantic storm season, tramples the Southeast.

As of the National Hurricane Center's 10 a.m. update, Isaias was situated about 380 miles south of the Mississippi River and had maximum wind speeds of 85 mph.

The current Category 1 system will lose power as it hits Alabama's core as a tropical storm early Saturday morning, the National Weather Service on Thursday told Patch.

However, Isaias could reach Category 2 status upon making landfall Friday evening near Gulf Shores or Pensacola, Florida, according to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

Before then, NWS meteorologist Carmen Hernandez said Isaias will travel toward the northern Gulf late Friday before accelerating toward Alabama.

Georgia will escape the eye of the storm but not its outskirts. Isaias' wrath will still be felt in the Peach State.

Bands of rainfall will come down Friday evening, through Saturday and into early Sunday morning, Hernandez said.

Travel could be affected Friday night and Saturday, and Isaias could spawn overnight tornadoes Friday and throughout Saturday, according to GEMA/HS.

The Storm Prediction Center placed southwest and west-central Georgia under a slight risk for severe weather on Saturday, GEMA/HS stated.

In metro Atlanta, wind gusts of 40-60 mph are expected Saturday into Sunday morning. This can lead to power outages if power lines and trees fall, Hernandez confirmed.

Flooding may also be a concern as 2-3 inches of rain can overflow in Georgia, with locally higher amounts up to 5 inches anticipated.

RELATED: Tropical Storm Isaias Forms In Gulf: See GA Impacts

A flood watch will take effect at 2 a.m. Saturday and will expire at 8 a.m. Sunday for the entire metro Atlanta region and surrounding counties.

Major counties Fayette, Clayton, Henry, Cobb, Fulton, DeKalb and Gwinnett are all included. Notably, Cherokee, Douglas, Paulding, Hall, Bartow and Forsyth counties will also be under the watch.

"You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop," the NWS states in the alert.

The towns of Zebulon, Greenville, LaGrange, Cuthburt, Franklin and Thomaston are all under a tropical storm watch due to the chance of tropical storm-force winds occurring in the next two days.

Additionally, a high wind watch will take effect at 8 a.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. Sunday in metro Atlanta and surrounding areas.

Rainfall could linger Sunday, but north and central Georgia is expected to be dry by nightfall into early next week, Hernandez said.

If Isaias makes landfall as a hurricane, AccuWeather reported it will be the first hurricane to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, 2024.

"We've gone from a historic stretch without a hurricane to a potentially destructive storm threatening the Gulf Coast in a matter of days. El Niño has helped suppress hurricane activity across the Atlantic this season, but it hasn't eliminated the threat. Even in an unusually quiet season, it only takes one hurricane to have devastating consequences for communities in its path."

AccuWeather expert meteorologist Dan Pydynowski

Updates will be posted on the weather service's Twitter page, the weather service's Facebook page and its website.

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