A severe thunderstorm warning was issued in the Chattanooga area on Tuesday afternoon, as a storm rolled through from the west.
There is a slight chance the storm could bring a small tornado to the area, National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Wasilewski said on Tuesday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, counties across northwest Georgia were placed under a tornado watch through 9 p.m., as well as several areas of eastern Alabama.
Across the state line, around Chattanooga, the chance of a tornado forming hovered around 5% according to a forecast from Local 3 News meteorologist Alison Pryor.
Most winds will be around 20 to 40 mph, Wasilewski said, with gusts as high as 60 mph. A gust of 58 mph was recorded near the Chattanooga Airport around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Weather Service. The highest winds will likely occur at higher elevations.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the storm was moving east from Lookout Mountain at around 45 mph, according to the Weather Service. Forecasts say a second wave of the storm is due to move through Chattanooga overnight and into Wednesday morning.
“If there’s going to be more widespread wind damage, that’s gonna be more for today (Tuesday),” Wasilewski said in a phone interview.
The thunderstorm warning expired in Hamilton County during Tuesday afternoon’s rainfall, which brought limited lightning to the area. As of Tuesday evening, all of East Tennessee was still under a hazardous weather outlook.
High winds may damage roofs and siding and can cause trees or power lines to fall. Downed wires had temporarily closed or limited access to at least three roads in the area — including Walsh and Whitehall roads in North Chattanooga and East 23rd Street near Montague Park — as of Tuesday afternoon, according to a news release from the Chattanooga Division of Transportation. All those closures were cleared a few hours later, division spokesperson Justin Strickland said in a news release, besides an unknown hazard that closed the 2100 block of Cummings Highway.
(READ MORE: After storm, Tennessee death toll climbs to 8)
Forecasts predict around 1.5 to 2 inches of rain around Chattanooga between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. The rain will likely stop and start during that time, according to Local 3’s forecast.
There likely won’t be much flooding at that level, Wasilewski said, but some low-lying areas may turn into large ponds.
This storm may be the strongest to hit the Chattanooga area since the summer, Wasilewski said.
“I can’t remember off the top of my head the last time that we had much severe weather,” he said, “as fas as something possibly this widespread.”
Unseasonably warm weather in the last several days helped strengthen the storm system, Wasilewski said, with temperatures into the low 70s in some parts.
“If it wasn’t this warm, we wouldn’t have enough instability — it probably would be more of just a heavy rainfall rather than storms,” the meteorologist said.
After the rain passes, the National Weather Service predicts things should cool down into the 50s.
(READ MORE: Drought conditions confirmed in Southeast Tennessee; some rain expected this week)
Recent rainfall has lifted most of Tennessee out of a drought, where Wasilewski predicts the state will stay throughout the rainy season and into late summer or fall.
As of mid-December, northwest Tennessee was still suffering moderate drought while around half of the state was categorized as abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Two weeks later, the drought monitor shows only a small pocket of moderate drought on the state’s western border, and only the northwest corner is still reporting abnormally dry conditions.
Roads closed or with limited access:
- 2100 Cummings Highway (unknown hazard)
Drivers should never attempt to cross flooded roads and should obey any instructions from law enforcement, flaggers or traffic control devices in these areas.
Drivers can report flooded locations or trees down by dialing the 311 service center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 423-643-6311, or if after hours/weekends, the Chattanooga Police Department Non-Emergency Number at 423-698-2525.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.