Outdoor events in Savannah and on Tybee Island this weekend could be put on hold by stormy weather.
The Charleston office of the National Weather Service, which provides weather forecasts for the Savannah area, warned of potential heavy rainfall throughout the southeastern United States from Tropical Storm Isaias in the Gulf. Regardless of the path Isaias takes to land, the storm will likely bring heavy rain to Savannah this weekend
.Weekend festivities that could be impacted by the weather include the Tybee Island Pirate Festival, the 2026 Savannah Wiener Dog Races and private garden tours hosted by the Downtown Garden Club.
Isaias is projected to make landfall somewhere along the
central Gulf coast on Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane. The heaviest rain from Isaias will likely arrive in northeast Georgia by early Saturday, according to AccuWeather. Flooding may be more likely, and more severe, with Savannah and the surrounding areas already saturated by last week’s rain. The National Weather Service office in Charleston also warned that heavy rain combined with elevated tides related to the new moon could cause rapid flooding in urban coastal areas.
High gusty winds and isolated tornadoes from severe thunderstorms are also possible Saturday afternoon and evening.
Although it is taking a similar track, Isaias is not expected to have the devastating impacts that Hurricane Helene had on Savannah and across Georgia. It is a less powerful but faster-moving system; which means it is not expected to linger over and drop heavy rain on inland areas for days, like Helene did.
“While flash flooding is always a concern with hurricanes and tropical storms and will be with Isaias, the scope and magnitude of flooding should be significantly less than with Helene,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.
Stephanie Castellano covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. You can reach her at scastellano@usatodayco.com. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Journalism Funding Partners.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Tropical Storm Isaias expected to bring heavy weekend rain to Savannah
