Chance for severe weather Saturday

The National Weather Service is forecasting the potential for a very potent and organized weather system to roll across the Coosa Valley on Saturday.

Meteorologist Matt Sena with the NWS office in Peachtree City said that prime time for the storm system to move across the Rome area would be from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

A line of strong to severe thunderstorms is expected to enter the northwest corner of the state during the early part of the morning Saturday and continue to move east through the afternoon.

The system may well weaken as it moves eastward during the afternoon, but the potential for isolated strong to severe storms will remain.

“We have the instability, we have strong dynamics with the system that should help to produce pretty good rounds of thunderstorms,” Sena said.

He said the best chances for the storms to ramp up are from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. and peak from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The NWS has placed the Rome area in a “slight risk for severe weather” category for Saturday, primarily during the morning hours.

The instability that Sena mentioned relates largely to above normal morning temperatures for this time of year. The forecast is for upper 50s to lower 60s in the morning while the average low for this time of year is 45 degrees.

The primary hazards in the forecast include the potential for wind gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour. A brief spin up tornado is possible and the storms could contain hail as large as an inch in diameter. Locally heavy rainfall is a strong possibility.