MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Wednesday will see mostly cloudy skies and a few storm opportunities before Helene starts to impact the region Thursday.

This Evening

Partly cloudy skies will stay with Middle Georgia into tonight. A stray shower or two will be possible but overall rain is not really expected. Overnight lows will be in the lower 70s for the majority of the region, accompanied by a south-southeast wind at 5-10 mph.

Tomorrow

Wednesday will be mostly cloudy around Middle Georgia resulting in a cooler afternoon. Highs will reach the upper 80s with real feels pushing into the lower 90s. The wind may be a bit breezier as it comes from the south-southeast at 5-15 mph. A few thunderstorms will be possible in the afternoon and evening, mainly for the western part of the region. This is courtesy of a cold front approaching from the west.

Overnight some rain will continue along and west of I-75 in Middle Georgia. This should slow after midnight, however some showers may begin to move into the region from the south heading into Thursday morning. Lows will mainly be in the upper 60s as wind blows from the southeast at 5-15 mph.

Helene

Middle Georgians must be able to receive weather alerts, particularly Thursday evening. Helene is expected to make landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida sometime Thursday evening. Rain will most certainly be ongoing in Middle Georgia by this point. Overnight Thursday is when the worst of it will impact Middle Georgia as the eye moves through the region. Powerful wind gusts (could be over 70 mph) and torrential rain will lead to extremely treacherous conditions outside. Flooding is expected, and a Flood Watch has been issued for the whole region until 2 PM Friday afternoon. Depending on the exact track of the eye some of the Middle Georgia counties could potentially see the spin-up tornado threat as well.

Follow Meteorologist Aaron Lowery on Facebook (Aaron Lowery 41NBC) and Twitter (@ALowWX) for weather updates throughout the day. Also, you can watch his forecasts Monday through Friday on 41NBC News at 4, 5, 5:30, 6, and 11 p.m.