Chattooga County and the rest of Northwest Georgia are heading into a stretch of unusually hot and unsettled weather, with temperatures running 15 to more than 20 degrees above normal through the next several days.

Forecasters say the region will stay locked in a warm, humid air mass, sending afternoon highs well into the 80s and putting some daily record temperatures in jeopardy. Even overnight lows will remain far above average for early March.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected from Friday into the middle of next week. While storm activity on Friday is not expected to be widespread or especially severe, a few storms could still bring gusty winds and brief heavy rain during the afternoon and evening hours.

The greater concern comes Saturday afternoon and Saturday night, when a cold front moving into the Southeast could help trigger a few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms across North Georgia. The main threat with the strongest storms will be isolated damaging wind gusts.

Rain and thunderstorm chances are expected to become more widespread on Sunday as the front pushes deeper into North Georgia, before weakening into early Monday. Although repeated rounds of rain are possible, the scattered nature of the storms should help limit flooding concerns to mainly nuisance-type issues in poor drainage areas.

Temperatures are expected to stay well above normal into next week, with highs generally ranging from the upper 70s to upper 80s. Some areas could challenge record highs and record warm overnight lows on multiple days.

Residents in Chattooga County and across Northwest Georgia should stay weather aware through the weekend, especially on Saturday, as the potential for isolated severe storms develops.