Hurricane Isaias: What to know about tornado risk in Georgia Saturday

ATLANTA — Hurricane Isaias continues to strengthen in the Gulf and is now a major hurricane. It will make landfall on northern Gulf coast late Friday night.

The storm will weaken as it moves inland but has the potential for significant local impacts with 40-50 mph winds, flooding, and brief tornadoes for Georgia.

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Brief tornadoes are common to the east of landfalling tropical systems, and that risk will develop across north Georgia through the day Saturday.

“While the risk in any given neighborhood of a tornado is low, we will need to stay weather aware through the day as bands of heavy, tropical rain move across our area,” Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Brian Monahan says.

Tornado safety plan

Have multiple ways to get tornado watch or tornado warning alerts.

Download the free WSB-TV Weather App for alerts sent straight to your phone when a tornado watch or tornado warning is issued. Remember: Tornado sirens are only to warn people who are outdoors. You may not hear sirens if a warning is issued.

Severe Weather Team 2 will come on the air immediately when a tornado warning is issued and stay on the air until the threat is over.

If your power goes out, there are several ways you can still get Severe Weather Team 2 coverage. You can stream on the free WSB-TV news app or stream on the free WSB-TV weather app on your smart phones.

Know your county and be able to identify it on a map.

Weather warnings are county-based and our maps have county outlines. Severe Weather Team 2 will get hyper-local tracking any tornadoes, but knowing counties helps.

Familiarize yourself with where your county is, but also make sure you know the counties that surround yours as well.

Know where to go

Move to an interior room on the lowest level of your home such as basement, closet or bathroom. Stay away from windows and exterior walls.

If you are in a mobile home or outside, get to the closest shelter and protect yourself from debris.

If a shelter isn’t available, stay in a low-lying area such as a ditch. But do not get under an overpass or bridge.

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