First of all, I was watching my Mississippi State Bulldogs play Alabama last night in the SEC Tournament in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (I was having to watch it on the internet because the local affiliate didn't carry the prime-time SEC game....irritating, but I digress). At any rate, the games goes into overtime, and about 2 1/2 minutes into overtime, you can hear the distintive roar of strong winds or a tornado coming over the audio of the game. Play stops, the players, coaches, and fans are all looking up at the ceiling, and they see a scary sight. The rafters of the Georgia Dome are swaying back and forth, the canopy roof rippling, and debris falling from the ceiling. From the radar images I saw, sure looks like a tornado hit Atlanta last night, and there is lots of damage around the city. In fact, in an unprecedented move, the SEC has been forced to move the rest of the SEC Tournament to Georgia Tech.
Now, as for our weather, we have potential severe weather to deal with later this afternoon and this evening. For the Triad, some hail will be possible, but as of now, it looks like the biggest severe weather threat will be in southern North Carolina and down through South Carolina.
Thid remains a tricky situation. There is some activity down in northeast Georgia that could skirt parts of the area later today, but the bigger threat would come late this afternoon and this evening. A frontal boundary will be draped very near the area. Along and to the south of that front, a tornado and damaging wind threat will exist, while a large hail threat will exist to the north of it.
In short, remain close to reliable source of hearing watch and warning information in the event they are required later today.
Read more...