Hot and humid conditions have prevailed over Metro Atlanta and North Georgia, and afternoon temperatures have climbed to the upper 90s today.

However, an upper level low swirling over the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas will spark scattered pop up showers and thunderstorms throughout Metro Atlanta and north Georgia later tonight.

These storms will be rather “pop up” in nature, however some will be strong to severe with potential damaging wind gusts as well as large hail (1+ inch in diameter).

As a result, the Storm Prediction Center has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for portions of Metro Atlanta and north Georgia through 12am Thursday.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch means conditions are favorable for storms to produce damaging wind gusts 58+ mph, large hail, or a tornado.

Due to the upper level low over the Carolina Coast, the steering winds for these storms will be from the east to the west -- a directional flow that is opposite from what we normally see in the state of Georgia.

Track the storms using the Interactive Radar below.

Damaging Wind Gusts Possible

Any storms that develop will have the potential to produce damaging wind gusts as high as 60 mph. This is high enough to knock down trees and powerlines.

Due to the pop-up nature of these storms, the majority of the storm damage will be due to downbursts within the storms.

What is a Downburst? What is a Microburst?

A downbursts forms when dense, rain-cooled air rushes quickly to the ground.

Downbursts that are 2.5 miles or smaller in diameter are known as “microbursts”, where as “macrobursts” occur when the downburst is larger than 2.5 miles in diameter.

Remember: Summertime storms often produce bowing winds that can reach 60-80 mph and occasionally as high as 90-100 mph, but those winds are moving in a straight line -- they’re not moving in a twisting pattern.

In the example below, the red and green shows air moving away from each other, as opposed to twisting towards each other.

But wind damage is still wind damage, no matter if it’s twisting or moving in a straight line!

During the summer, if you are ever in a Severe Thunderstorm Warning, treat them seriously, as wind gusts can still be quite damaging -- even without a tornado causing the damage.

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