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VALDOSTA — 2017 got off to a wet start in Valdosta, and forecasters say its about to get wetter.

An upper-level system started moving through South Georgia with a cold front Sunday, said Emma Weston, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tallahassee, Fla., office.

“It’s a good thing,” said Frank Strait, senior meteorologist with the private forecasting firm AccuWeather. “Valdosta finished the month of December a little below average on rainfall, and that followed a long dry spell.”

Another, more substational frontal system is expected to move through the region Monday night, Strait said.

Weston said Valdosta could receive around an inch of rain; heavier amounts are expected in the Florida Panhandle and Alabama.

Both forecasters said there was some chance of severe weather Monday night in South Georgia, though the worst was again expected to be to Valdosta’s west.

Temperatures are expected to be unusually warm for the next few days, Strait said. While the average high for Valdosta for early January is 62, he said highs should be in the upper 70s through Tuesday, with a rapid cool-off as the frontal systems drag chilly air behind them.

He said highs should dip into the 50s by Friday.

Terry Richards is an editor at The Valdosta Daily Times.