Athenians are among those in the nation expected to feel the effects of Hurricane Isaias on Saturday. John Knox is a professor of Geography and Associate Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia. He details what North Georgia may experience due to the category 3 storm.
“We’ll have high winds in North Georgia, we’re under a high wind warning, especially the higher elevations of north Georgia will experience strong winds perhaps 50 miles per hour or so,” according to Knox. “And also, since we’re going to get a few inches of rain from this, there’s a flooding risk, a flash flooding risk from Atlanta northeastward.”
Knox says those conditions are likely to cause downed trees, and he says this hurricane may also bring additional weather woes.
“We’ve got a hurricane coming in, but it’s also coming in with a lot of what’s known as wind shear. What this does is it weakens a hurricane, but it also increases the chances of tornadoes in the thunderstorms that are on the east side of the eye, that can be for hundreds of miles.”
Knox recommends Athens area residents visit the Weather Dawgs website and social media for local forecasts during the storm. They will be staffing the studio overnight and through the storm.
