Monitoring potentially strong to severe thunderstorms Friday afternoon

Severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for the Deep South Friday, and the storm system will roll into Metro Atlanta Friday afternoon.

WATCH NOW: Breaking down Friday's storm threat for Metro Atlanta
Thunderstorms are in the forecast for Friday. Let's break down the timing of these storms and discuss the potential for wind damage.
Posted by Christina Edwards on Thursday, March 2, 2023

The Storm Prediction Center has outlined a “Slight Risk” for scattered severe storms on Friday, which means they will be short-lived and isolated, but potentially intense with damaging winds the main impact.

Warm and humid air will be in place over North Georgia, which is favorable for thunderstorms to develop. A cold front will push into Georgia Friday afternoon, sparking up thunderstorms along the edge of the front.

Enough strong winds aloft, or high above the ground, will be present to generate potentially damaging wind gusts within these storms. Outside of the rain, non-thunderstorm wind gusts may be as high as 30- 40 mph. This is strong enough to knock down trees and powerlines. As a result, a Wind Advisory will be in effect throughout the day on Friday.

Futurecast Wind Gusts for Friday Futurecast Wind Gusts for Friday

Low level wind shear -- change of wind speed and wind direction from the surface of the ground to one mile above -- will be present, and there may be enough to produce a tornado or two.

However, the low pressure system responsible for the thunderstorms will be moving away from Georgia, potentially limiting the amount of energy available for the storms to tap into.