North Georgia will get some relief from the drought Friday and Friday night as the remains of Hurricane Humberto move northeast, however by the time the Georgia Bulldogs try to get their honor back Saturday afternoon in Athens, we should be in the middle of some fine Autumn weather.

Humberto’s remains are driving low pressure up the eastern seaboard, and the forecast is for rain from Alabama to Virginia to Maine, with the strongest rainfall in the next 24 hours up the Appalachian spine between Huntsville and Asheville, NC. Atlanta could see an inch of rainfall, however like yesterday, the amount of rain you get will depend on exactly where you are. At least the storm’s remnants are helping some of the most drought stricken areas.

On Thursday, I recorded .37 inches of rain, while Atlanta Hartsfield reported 1.64 inches. Gainesville and Athens reported only trace rainfall. The rainy conditions were enough to stop play for three hours at the Tour Championship at East Lake Country Club, an I’m afraid that even the small field of golfers in that event will have difficulty completing both the first and second rounds during today’s rain.

By Saturday morning, a cold front approaching from the northwest will move into North Georgia, bringing dry air and some cooler temperatures, including overnight lows in the 50s for the first time since late spring. Expect the pleasant weather to last at least through midweek, when there may be another round of showers and thundershowers.

Out in the Atlantic, Tropical Depression Eight has become Tropical Storm Ingrid. Ingrid is running into some wind shear, and at this point is expected to weaken back into a depression by the start of next week, still well east of the United States.

As of 11 this morning, the National Hurricane Center has recognized two tropical systems, one in the Atlantic, and the other in the Gulf of Mexico, near Texas. Tropical Depression Eight, which will become Ingrid, is located about 1100 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, and is moving along a similar track as did Dean and Felix. The difference, though, is that it appears that Eight’s path will take it north of Puerto Rico and Cuba, therefore making it a greater threat for landfall in the United States. There is still a long way to go with this storm however, as it won’t be approaching any land until sometime next week.

Tropical Depression Nine, which will likely become Humberto later today, is a different story. This storm has been sitting in the western Gulf of Mexico for the last few days, and is finally gaining some strength. The storm is located 85 miles southwest of Galveston, Texas, and tropical storm warnings have been issued from Port O’Connor, Texas to Louisiana.

The map at right shows some of the forecast models for the storm, which is expected to make landfall overnight tonight, and dissipate somewhere near the Louisiana - Mississippi border early Friday morning. This storm is going to interact with a cold front that is expected to pass through the Atlanta area on Friday. The exact location where these systems interact is still in doubt, but this one could be a rainmaker for parts of the southeast United States.