COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) – Thousands waking up this morning across east-central Alabama and west-central Georgia toppled trees on downed power lines. Sally is lifting north/northeast and weakening from a tropical storm to a depression over the next several hours. Each hour, the weather will deteriorate into windy conditions with gusts up to 45 miles per hour across East Central Alabama, and 25-35 mph winds in West Central Georgia.

Soaking rains from three to six inches in a six hour period coupled with breezy and gusty conditions into Thursday morning will lead to hazardous conditions, with trees toppling over, small branches snapping onto powerlines, and slick roads.

Flash flooding in low lying areas will continue into the early morning hours, possibly even as the storm passes as some small streams and creeks will have swift-moving water in them.

The system should clear the local area on Thursday afternoon, with the worst portion of the storm lifting out but we will continue to have breezy conditions as a cold front forces Sally’s energy out of the region.

We expect a preview of fall for sure this weekend, with overnight lows dipping behind this front down into the upper 50s and highs in the low to mid 70s.