The threat of severe weather for Friday has been downgraded though things are by no means going to be pleasant.
Coffee and the surrounding areas were bracing for another round of potentially damaging wind and rain forecasters had predicted for Friday afternoon. The pattern was supposed to follow the same one that brought heavy rain, high winds, and at least one tornado that hit eastern Coffee and western Bacon counties on Tuesday. A pair of squall lines moved through South Georgia that day; the first one rolled through in the predawn hours while the second — and more severe — storm came in early afternoon. Schools and businesses closed down as people prepared for the worst.
For most of Coffee County, the effects were little to none. However, a tornado tore through the Nicholls area and into Bacon County, ripping up trees and damaging homes. Coffee County reported sustained winds as high as 43 mph while the areas in the path of the tornado saw wind speeds approaching 115 mph.
Friday’s predicted storms were projected to follow a similar blueprint with the second of two squall lines hitting Coffee County around 3 p.m. — right when kids would be getting on school buses. However, weather officials have downgraded South Georgia’s chances of severe weather as the week has worn on. Officials believe Friday’s weather poses little threat to schoolchildren and there are currently no plans to cancel school.
That’s not to say that some areas won’t get bad weather; experts predict the corridor between I-20 and I-16 (and even a little south of I-16) to see severe weather along the lines of what came through on Tuesday.
Still, county EMA director Steve Carver cautioned Coffee Countians that some bad weather could result. “It’s going to be a wet day and a few thunderstorms could pop up. You never know what could come out of thunderstorms. But we aren’t expecting anything like we saw Tuesday,” he said Thursday afternoon.