Will Hurricane Sally Dump Rain On Metro Atlanta?

METRO ATLANTA, GA — Georgia will likely feel the effects of Hurricane Sally later this week after it makes landfall near the east coast of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

The U.S. National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia, said tropical storm Sally had rapid intensification and is now a hurricane with max sustained winds at 90 mph. Landfall is forecasted for near east Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi coast Tuesday or early Wed. It may then turn northeast as it weakens inland.

The primary impact for Georgia continues to be heavy rainfall and flooding Wednesday into Friday, and the National Weather Service said it cannot rule out isolated tornadoes.

Sally pulled away from South Florida as a tropical storm over the weekend and became a full-fledged hurricane Monday as weather officials monitor a record-tying five tropical cyclones from the Gulf to the far Atlantic.

Hurricane Sally was churning over the north-central Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of around 85 mph and higher gusts. It was about 135 miles east-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 175 miles southeast of Biloxi, Mississippi, as of noon Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Hurricane Paulette was near Bermuda, while Tropical Depression Rene was over the central Atlantic. Recently upgraded Tropical Storm Teddy was over the east-central tropical Atlantic.

Newly formed Tropical Storm Vicky was over the eastern tropical Atlantic.

With the arrival of Vicky, only one name is left — Wilfred — for the remainder of the hurricane season, which runs through Nov. 30. After that, storms will be named with the Greek alphabet, a practice that would be followed for the first time since 2005 —the year of Emily, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The Greek alphabet names begin with Alpha and would be followed by Beta and Gamma.

Thursday marked the statistical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, and 2020 has more than lived up to expectations for a busier-than-normal year.

Patch Editor Paul Scicchitano contributed to this article.