Up to 8 inches of rainfall may pour into Georgia after dangerous Hurricane Isaias, now a Category 3 storm, drives through the Southeast.
The heavy rainfall may be accompanied by isolated tornadoes and 40-mph gusty winds, starting Friday night in Georgia, National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Marlow told Patch.
As of the National Hurricane Center's 7:20 a.m. update, Isaias was situated about 145 miles southeast of the Mississippi River and had maximum wind speeds of 120 mph.
According to the NHC, the center of Isaias was expected to hit the western Florida Panhandle coast by Friday evening. This will cause a "life-threatening storm surge and devastating winds" to the Panhandle and Alabama coasts, the NHC stated.
The system was expected to lose power as it hits Alabama's core as a tropical storm early Saturday morning, the NWS on Thursday told Patch.
The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency on Thursday urged residents to have a power outage ready kit prepared ahead of Isaias.
"Most of the items you need can already be found at home, but if additional supplies are needed, please have those errands done by tonight. No need to panic buy, just get what you and your family need for 3 days," GEMA/HS stated in a Facebook post.
Though the Peach State will remain in the outskirts of Isaias, which reached 120 mph wind speed early Friday in the Gulf, Marlow said the impacts will be significant in Georgia.
"The impact from the storm will be felt well outside the center," he said.
Some areas along the coast and into far southern Georgia have already begun receiving rain, Marlow said.
Around the Columbus area in the state's central region, rainfall can begin as early as 4 p.m. Friday. This will continue through Saturday.
Narrow bands of heavy rain will trek over Georgia and continue to track over the same areas repeatedly, causing the state to receive "fairly considerable rainfall amounts in less than 24 hours," Marlow said.
Though some towns may experience 1-2 inches of rainfall, he said it is likely that cities from metro Atlanta to Athens and as far south as Macon and into the North Georgia mountains will get a minimum of 5 inches.
On the high end, some towns may be subjected to 8 inches of heavy rain.
As of Friday morning, the NWS was unable to pinpoint the specific areas where the heaviest of rain will occur.
The next worry will be gusty winds, which will climb to at least 40 mph, starting late Friday night and through Saturday.
Marlow said this will affect the Columbus, Americus and Vidalia region before shifting elsewhere by possibly Sunday morning.
Lastly, there is a threat of isolated tornadoes, Marlow said.
"Tropical systems like this are (known) for producing very quick spin-up tornadoes," he said.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday afternoon issued a state of emergency due to the threat of Isaias. He also called upon the Georgia National Guard to help with preparation, response and recovery efforts.
Additionally, the Georgia Emergency Operations Plan and the Georgia State Operations Center have been activated.
The Storm Prediction Center on Thursday placed southwest and west-central Georgia under a slight risk for severe weather on Saturday, GEMA/HS stated.
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.
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.
Due to the treacherous hurricane, event organizers have canceled multiple events throughout Georgia that were set to be held this weekend.
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