A cool and damp start to May is underway across Chattooga County and Northwest Georgia, with showers expected through the day as a weather system moves across the state.

Rain will gradually come to an end from northwest to southeast today as the system moves toward the Georgia coast and pulls the rain offshore. For Chattooga County, rainfall totals should stay fairly light, generally around a tenth to half an inch before conditions begin improving later today.

Skies are expected to begin clearing this afternoon and evening as high pressure builds in from the west, bringing drier air into the region. Temperatures will remain cooler than normal for early May, with afternoon highs mainly in the 60s to near 70.

Tonight will feel noticeably chilly across Northwest Georgia, with lows dropping into the 40s. In the higher elevations of North Georgia, temperatures could dip into the upper 30s.

Sunday will bring clearer and drier weather, but the cool air will linger. Highs should rebound into the lower to middle 70s, still slightly below normal for this time of year.

Sunday night into Monday morning could bring a frost threat for parts of the North Georgia mountains. A frost advisory may be needed, and some climate sites could come close to record low temperatures.

A warming trend is expected to begin Monday as high pressure shifts east and temperatures climb back closer to normal, with highs returning to the upper 70s and mid 80s.

The next chance for showers and thunderstorms arrives by the middle to latter part of next week, most likely sometime late Wednesday into Thursday. Forecasters say the exact timing, location, and intensity of those storms remain uncertain.