See Rainfall Amounts For Dreary Mother's Day Weekend In GA

Heavy rain is expected to soak most of Georgia during a bleak Mother's Day weekend, but forecasters say the downpour will not be sufficient enough to overpower the severe drought.

Patch on Thursday spoke with Sid King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Peachtree City office.

Chances of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms are high for the upcoming holiday weekend, with King saying there is some storm probability "pretty much throughout" the state.

Recent storms are due to a cold front that will likely stall across the Florida Panhandle and south Georgia, leading to a pair of disturbances that will overtake the stationary front, King said.

The upper-level disturbances will then concentrate several rounds of rainfall across Georgia, he added.

As far as where the heaviest of the showers and storms will appear depends on where the cold front stalls, driving uncertainty as of Thursday.

At this time, King said the hazards are not anticipated to be severe due to cooler air piling up behind the cold front. The coolness will prevent storms from "getting enough energy to work with," he said.

He predicted some lightning and locally heavy rain as the primary concerns with the storms. Contrastingly to Thursday's storms, there are currently no widespread flooding worries with the weekend weather.

Georgia residents will get a reprieve from the rain on Friday, which is expected to be dry; however, the weekend rain could usher in more storms on Monday.

The stalled front is supposed to start moving away from the area by Tuesday, possibly early Wednesday, King said.

How Much Rain Could I Get?

In areas south of Atlanta, King said there is about a 60 percent chance of rain early Saturday morning.

Further south, into the Macon and Columbus areas, the rainfall probability expands into 70 percent. Other areas down south have heightened likelihoods for rain.

On the other side of the metro, areas north of Atlanta have about a 40-50 percent chance of showers and storms.

The odds of rain will briefly taper by Saturday afternoon but will increase by Sunday.

Areas near the north Georgia mountains could see up to an inch of downpour. Higher amounts will lie south of Atlanta.

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In south Georgia, where brutal wildfires are continuing their rampage in Brantley and Clinch counties, King said rainfall amounts of an inch to an inch-and-a-half are expected.

The Highway 92 blaze in Brantley stood at 85 percent containment while the Pineland Road fire in Clinch was at 65 percent containment Thursday.

"(The rain's) going to be long-lived through the weekend so difficult to say if it would be sufficient in putting out the fires, but it could at least help a little bit, and every little bit helps," he said. "(It) may help them get things under control but may not be enough to outright put out fires."

The system will also not be enough to make up for the recent rain deficit plaguing Georgia at the moment, King said.

The Peach State still sits in a severe drought despite being swept by recent storms.

Thursday's rainfall totals will be computed into next week's drought monitor, which he said was calculated Tuesday, King said.

The monitor on Thursday showed a Level D3 extreme drought for metro Atlanta and a Level D4 exceptional drought for south Georgia. Few counties are facing a Level D1 moderate drought.

"Fairly common to have this set up, to have multiple rounds of rain with a stalled front, but it's welcomed after the drought conditions we've seen so far, so hopefully some of these (storms) over the weekend will also give us a bit of relief for our drought," he said.

High temperatures on Friday will linger around the 70s in metro Atlanta while low temperatures will range from the mid-40s to low-50s. The chilliness is due to the cold front, King said.

The forecast showed temperatures in the high 70s for Saturday and Sunday.

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

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

This Afternoon: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. Northwest wind 10-15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 52. Northwest wind 5-10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. North wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.

Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after 3 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Calm wind.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Southwest wind around 5 mph.

Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60.

Sunday: A chance of showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent.

Sunday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.

Monday: A 10 percent chance of showers before 8 a.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.

Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 51.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 75.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.