(Cleveland)-Hurricane Francine made landfall Wednesday night in Louisiana as a category 2 storm, before weakening down to a cat 1 system. As Francine moves northward through Mississippi today it is expected to weaken even more. Even though the system is far to the west of us White County will see rain and wind from Francine.
Don Strength, Division Chief with White County Public Safety says, Rain will begin this afternoon and should remain light through tomorrow afternoon with a total of around .05″. As Francine moves north through Mississippi, heavier rain bands (feeder bands) may move into the mountains of north Georgia Friday night into Saturday.
According to Strength at the same time, a second tropical system may become organized off the coast of South Carolina and push tropical moisture back into White County. Strength advises that rain totals through Sunday are expected to be 2″-3″ with a 75% chance of seeing 2″ or more in that time frame.
Flooding is not a major concern as the ground should soak up the rain well. However, if training sets up across our area, local amounts greater than 4″ could cause localized flooding issues. Strength saying, a wind advisory has been issued for northwest Georgia, extending east to northeast Georgia just to our west. This advisory could be extended to White County later today.
Wind gusts of 20-30 mph will be possible later this afternoon and during the overnight. 20-30 mph could bring down a few trees and powerlines.
Severe weather (small spin-up tornadoes) does not seem likely across northeast Georgia but Strength said that “ Can not be completely ruled out tonight into Friday. “
