The heat and humidity continue to dominate the local headlines here in Metro Atlanta, but keep an eye on the sky and an ear to the radio this afternoon and evening.
The Storm Prediction Center has outlined an area of *Slight Risk* of severe storms in north Georgia through this evening, including Metro Atlanta.
The main impacts from the storms would be damaging wind gusts that could knock down a few trees or powerlines. A few locations may also experience moderately large hail.
Timing out the precise arrival of the storms is tricky, due to the pulsing “pop up” nature of the storms’ formation. However, the movement this afternoon would be from the east towards the west.
The animation below illustrates the Futurecast Radar for this afternoon.
What is up with the severe weather during the summer?
Some of the most damaging storms happen in the summer time.
Afternoon thunderstorms often produce downbursts, which look like big drops of rain-cooled air and precipitation that can level numerous trees in a short amount of time. Often, a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for “pop up” storms that are capable of downburst wind damage.
In addition, any land-falling tropical systems that move through Metro Atlanta bring the potential for quick spin up tornadoes. The extra rotation in the atmosphere from the tropical system encourages tornadoes to develop here at the ground level.
Finally, large storm clusters can produce a wide swath of straight line wind damage, some of which can level trees and powerlines. These storm clusters appear on the radar as a line of storms marching across town, and they can prompt severe thunderstorm watches and warnings.
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