ATLANTA (AP) — The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for parts of north Georgia including the metro Atlanta area.

Forecasters say damaging winds will be the main threat as storms move into Georgia on Thursday. The tornado watch is in effect until 11 p.m.

Forecasters expect a squall line of storms to enter northwest Georgia by late Thursday afternoon or early evening and metro Atlanta Thursday night. The storms will then roll across central Georgia during the late evening and early Friday morning.

Meteorologists say rainfall amounts could be heavy, especially across parts of the north and central Georgia, where widespread areas of up to 2 inches of rain are expected.

The storm is part of a system that downed trees in and knocked out power in west Alabama.