More severe weather heading for South Georgia
Apr. 8—VALDOSTA — South Georgia may be in for another round of severe weather Wednesday and Thursday, according to forecasters.
An unusually strong cold front will be moving into the region early Thursday, said Joe Worster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Tallahassee, Fla., office.
With the front pushing a load of warm air ahead of it, there is a "high likelihood" of severe weather, said Tom Kines, a senior meteorologist for the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.
The threat could mean damaging winds, hail, excessive rainfall leading to localized flooding and a small chance of tornadoes, Worster and Kines said.
Wind speeds could reach 60-75 mph in gusts, Kines said.
On March 27, another wave of thunderstorms moved through South Georgia, producing downed trees and power lines. An isolated case of straight-line winds in central Valdosta damaged dozens of homes as 75 mph gusts — the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane — hit areas along Gornto Road.
Rainfall amounts could reach 1-2 inches for Valdosta and Thomasville and 2-3 inches for Tifton, Worster said.
Ahead of the cold front, daytime high temperatures across the region should be in the low to mid-80s; after the front passes through, a mild cooldown to the mid-70s is expected.
Kines said the biggest result of the cold front moving through will be lower humidity levels in its wake.
Terry Richards is the senior reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times.
