Your Easter Sunday services and events may get muddy and soggy.
A cold front moving into northwest Georgia will bring overnight rain, and showers are expected to linger in North Georgia through early afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Some storms may become strong, leading to gusts, but the threat for severe weather remains low overall.
“Sunrise services will be in jeopardy because the rain will move in early in the day,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Eboni Deon said.
The northwest corner of the state will see the incoming rain Saturday evening, and that line of thunderstorms will continue shifting southeast through the night. Georgia’s northwest corner is under a Level 1 of 5 threat for damaging wind gusts. The severe weather potential will be greatest between 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday, according to the Weather Service.
North and Middle Georgia will face some threats from isolated thunderstorms, such as gusty winds, small hail, lightning and brief heavy rainfall. The cold front will also drop temperatures from Saturday’s predicted high in the low 80s. Temps are expected to only reach about 70 degrees in Atlanta on Sunday.
North Georgia will start drying up around noon, and rain will have moved east by around 2 p.m., Deon said. The Weather Service warns of a strong to severe storm threat as remaining showers push into far east-central Georgia, where temperatures will still be in the 80s.
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
The rain could put a damper on Easter plans such as religious services and egg hunts.
A spokesperson for Stone Mountain Park said Friday that the site’s annual Easter Sunrise Service is still scheduled and said any updates would be shared on the park’s website. Park gates open at 3 a.m. and the cable car starts taking patrons to the top of the stone at 4 a.m. for the 7 a.m. service. Through it all, rain is expected in the area.
While some egg hunts around the metro area are happening Saturday, any Sunday hunts could be canceled or moved indoors.
Most of metro Atlanta will see up to an inch of rain. Total rainfall amounts could reach up to 1½ inches in areas north of I-85, while most other areas will end up with as much as three-quarters of an inch.
Georgia is currently facing its most significant drought since 2011–2012, making the Easter weekend showers a necessity.
In the seven-month span from Sept. 1 to April 1, Atlanta got just over 17 inches of rain. That’s just over 12 inches below average, according to the NWS. It’s also the lowest amount of total rainfall during that period recorded in more than 100 years, the agency said.
“With little relief expected from this weekend’s rain, the trend remains concerning as we enter the warmer spring months,” the Weather Service said.
Winter typically serves as a “recharge season,” but officials said this last season failed to put a dent in rainfall deficits. Macon and Columbus have also set records for the driest September to April period.
The Weather Service said three months of above-normal rainfall are required to end a drought. That would mean 1 to 1½ inches of rain every week would be needed to keep the drought from getting worse.
Beyond Sunday, drier conditions will return. Temperatures will cap in the low to mid-70s until Friday, when a warm-up begins again.
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