National Weather Service forecast for Gainesville
National Weather Service radar
This Afternoon: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 2 p.m.. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 60. East wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Saturday: Occasional showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 p.m.. High near 66. East wind between 5 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New rainfall amounts between one and two inches possible.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers, mainly before 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47. East wind around 10 mph becoming west. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56. West wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
More than two inches of rain has fallen on Northeast Georgia since Wednesday, and the heaviest rainfall still may be a day away.
A system of heavy rain that developed over Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday moved into northern Georgia around daybreak today, said Kent McMullen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Peachtree City. Heavy rain is expected for most of the day.
At 2:15 p.m., 2.08 inches of rain had been recorded at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport, according to the weather service's Web site. More than 1.35 inches has fallen in the last six hours.
A second system, associated with a cold front, will move through the area Saturday and Saturday night, bringing the threat of thunderstorms, McMullen said. Some of those thunderstorms could be severe, he said.
A flood watch continues in most of North Georgia, including Gainesville, until Saturday night.
McMullen said Saturday’s rainfall is expected to be widespread across the Lake Lanier basin, which would help raise the lake’s level.
The rain has raised the lake level only slightly, to 1,059.56 feet at 2:30 p.m. Lake Lanier has risen 2 feet since the first of the year and is now about 11.5 feet below full pool.
"The heaviest rain (Thursday) moved to the south of you in Gainesville," McMullen said. "But the developing systems that will move through in the next two days will keep the threat of heavy rain high."
By Sunday, skies should clear and the sun should return. But the nice weather will be short-lived. Forecasters are calling for a chance of thunderstorms returning to the forecast on Tuesday.