Two to Four Inches of Rain From Florence Expected for Northeast Georgia

Hurricane Florence is barreling toward the North and South Carolina coasts bringing torrential rainfall of up to two feet in some areas and possible wind speeds of up to 140 miles per hour when it comes on shore.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service said Wednesday the storm’s path has shifted slightly to the west.

That means Northeast Georgia and the Upstate could feel the effects of Florence over the weekend, according to meteorlogist Jeff Taylor.

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a concern, especially for Northeast Georgia,” Taylor said. “There’s still a certain amount of uncertainty about where it will go once it makes landfall and how fast it will move. The main impact for your area there in Toccoa is excesive rainfall.”

Once it hits landfall, Florence is expected to linger before turning north.

That means much of the storm area can expect flooding as rainfall totals reach over two feet in some parts of North Carolina.

Taylor said here in Stephens County and Northeast Georgia we can expect two to four inches of rain over the weekend with most of the rain expected Sunday and Monday.

But he says that could change as Florence moves closer.

“Right now it’s about 2-4 inches over Northeast Georgia and of course that will certainly change some and be refined once it gets closer,” he explained. “So it could be more than that, but I imagine it will be at least two inches total unless the track does something unexpected once it makes landfall.”

As for tropical strength winds along with the rain, Taylor said there is a chance of that for our area this weekend.

“For Northeat Georgia there’s about 20-30% chance you’ll see tropical storm-force winds with this system; 40mph sustained winds, based on the current forecast,” Taylor said.

And as always, stay with WNEG News for the latest forecasts and severe weather updates.