Residents across Chattooga County and northwest Georgia should prepare for a wet start to the week as a slow-moving weather system brings numerous showers and thunderstorms through Tuesday before conditions gradually return to a more typical summertime pattern later in the week.

Rain and thunderstorms are expected throughout the day Monday with a high near 82 degrees. The chance of rain is 80 percent, and some locations could receive between a quarter and one-half inch of rainfall, with locally higher amounts in heavier thunderstorms. Showers and storms will continue Monday night before gradually diminishing after midnight.

The unsettled weather is being driven by a weak upper-level low pressure system interacting with an unusually moist air mass. National Weather Service forecasters say the atmosphere contains moisture levels near the 90th percentile for mid-July, increasing the potential for heavy downpours. While the overall threat for severe weather is lower Monday because of extensive cloud cover, a few stronger storms could still produce isolated damaging wind gusts. Slow-moving storms may also lead to localized flooding in poor drainage areas.

Rain chances remain high on Tuesday, with showers and thunderstorms likely throughout the day and a high again near 82 degrees. The chance of precipitation increases to 90 percent before storms taper off Tuesday night.

By Wednesday, the weather pattern becomes more typical for July, with mainly afternoon and evening thunderstorms developing from daytime heating. High temperatures will climb into the mid-80s Wednesday before warming into the upper 80s Thursday and reaching the lower 90s by Friday and through the upcoming weekend.

Although afternoon storm chances will continue each day, coverage is expected to become more scattered later in the week, allowing temperatures to return to seasonal levels.