MACON, Ga. — The 13WMAZ weather team is issuing a weather impact alert day for all day Thursday as Tropical Storm Helene will approach the southeast. As of Tuesday morning, Helene is forecasted to intensify into a major hurricane of Category 3 status upon landfall and still be a tropical storm by the time it reaches central Georgia.
Here's what you need to know
When:
The Weather Impact Alert is for all day Thursday, as outer bands of rain and gusty winds will begin to enter central Georgia during the overnight hours early of Thursday morning. We may get a little break from the rain in the afternoon before it returns Thursday evening in heavier bands and gusty winds arrive as the center of circulation makes landfall and tracks up into our area overnight into Friday. There still is the possibility we extend the Weather Impact Alert for the first half of Friday if we continue to see impacts into the early morning hours on Friday.
Impact:
The one thing that is certain is that we will see gusty winds and heavy rain here in central Georgia. The severity of these impacts (wind gust speeds, flood risk, and possible severe weather) is still up in the air all depending on what side of the storm we are on. The east side, or the "dirty side", of the storm would pose a risk severe thunderstorms and the possibility of spin-up tornadoes, as opposed to the west side which is the calmer side. The Storm Prediction Center has gone ahead an issued a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe weather for much of our southeastern half already on Thursday, but this risk is subject to change depending on the path the storm takes.
Need:
Be weather-aware throughout the second half of the work week and look for further updates on our 13WMAZ mobile app. The forecast still remains rather fluid, so staying up to date as we get up will be crucial to going about your day.
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