Serious flooding in west Georgia; dam burst

[JetMaxx]

Updated rainfall numbers at my location in Douglasville, Georgia...20 miles west of Atlanta as of noon EDT today (WED June 18th):

Rainfall past 24 hours: 2.50"

Rainfall past 40 hours (since 10 p.m. Monday evening): 7.04"

Rainfall since June 01: 13.78" (normal is 2")

Rainfall since May 01: 23.57" (normal is 6")

Rainfall since January 01:
38.30" (normal is 25")

Rainfall since 9/01/02 (past 9 1/2 months): 67.39" (normal is only 39")

Extensive flooding is now occurring across much of north and west Georgia and northern/ central Alabama--Chattahoochee river at Whitesburg is +7' above flood stage and rising. Many roads and bridges in west Georgia have been washed out, and an earthen dam burst just before noon near Banning, Georgia (Carroll county --20 SSW of my location), and has put 40 homes under water

It's a bad situation and is getting worse...

PW

[Rainband]

OMG that is sad..stay safe!!!!!!!

[GAStorm]

Those are some impressive totals! It's crazy to think how different things were just a couple years ago with the drought. I think we could go a while without rain and not worry about a drought anytime soon!!

[GAStorm]

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...FLOOD WARNING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA 1242 PM EDT WED JUN 18 2003
... RIVER FLOOD WARNING FOR PARTS OF THE SWEETWATER CREEK...

RECENT HEAVY RAINFALL ACROSS THE AREA HAS CAUSED EXCESSIVE RUNOFF. THIS HEAVY RAINFALL HAS LED TO SIGNIFICANT RUNOFF INTO STREAMS AND RIVERS... CAUSING RIVERS TO RISE. SOME POINTS ALONG THE RIVER SYSTEM WILL EXPERIENCE FLOODING.

FOR THE SWEETWATER CREEK NEAR AUSTELL... NO FLOODING IS OCCURRING. MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST. THE LATEST STAGE... WAS 9.0 FEET AT 9 AM WEDNESDAY. BANKFULL STAGE... IS 12.0 FEET. FLOOD STAGE... IS 10.0 FEET. THE FORECAST... FOR THE SWEETWATER CREEK NEAR AUSTELL... THE RIVER WILL RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE AT 5 PM WEDNESDAY. IT WILL CREST NEAR 13.4 FEET AT 2 PM THURSDAY. IT WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE AT 10 PM FRIDAY. AT 13.0 FEET... MODERATE FLOODING BEGINS AT 13 FEET WITH WATER ENTERING SOME HOMES ON WREN CIRCLE IN AUSTELL. OLD ALABAMA ROAD BRIDGE ALSO GOES UNDER WATER.

ALL PERSONS WITH INTERESTS ALONG THE RIVER SHOULD MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS... AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE NECESSARY PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. DO NOT DRIVE CARS THROUGH FLOODED AREAS.STAY TUNED TO THE WEATHER CHANNEL AND WEATHER.COM FOR UPDATES....

[weatherlover427]

Yikes that sounds very bad. Stay safe and don't float away. Also make sure that your roof doesn't leak!

[Constructionwx]

I just saw on WAGA news a helicopter shot of some ball fields that had flooded over your way Jet.

[GAStorm]

Well, it looks as if the worst of it is over for now. http://www.srh.noaa.gov/radar/latest/DS ... kffc.shtml

The heaviest rain only lasted about 25 minutes, and there are no more bands heading here in the immediate future. If we get any more downpours, we will probably need to take a boat to work tomorrow!!

[JetMaxx]

I just saw on WAGA news a helicopter shot of some ball fields that had flooded over your way Jet.

Yep RP....Mt Vernon park near Lithia Springs. We received another heavy shower this afternoon....rainfall since 10 p.m. Monday evening now totals 7.33".

Reports from portions of rural Coweta and Troup counties are that 9-10" rain has fallen in the same time period.

[Constructionwx]

Hey GAStorm,

That band of rain is over my location now. After it passes over, I should have reached 6" of rain so far this month.

[JetMaxx]

Updated rainfall totals at my location as of 6 p.m. EDT...

Rainfall past 24 hours: 2.79"

Rainfall past 48 hours : 7.33"

Rainfall since June 01: 14.07" (normal is 2")

Rainfall since May 01: 23.87" (normal is 6")

Rainfall since January 01: 38.59" (normal is 25")

Rainfall since 9/01/02 (past 9 1/2 months): 67.68" (normal is only 39")

[Constructionwx]

I just saw on WAGA news a helicopter shot of some ball fields that had flooded over your way Jet.

Yep RP....Mt Vernon park near Lithia Springs. We received another heavy shower this afternoon....rainfall since 10 p.m. Monday evening now totals 7.33".

Reports from portions of rural Coweta and Troup counties are that 9-10" rain has fallen in the same time period.

Good Lord!
As I just mentioned to GAStorm, I am just about to pass 6" for this month total. Wow what a diffrence.

[JetMaxx]

RP, I haven't seen it this bad since T.S. Alberto's deluge in July 1994 (18" of rain fell here that month....9" in three days).

We recieved over 8" of rain during the passage of hurricane Opal in 1995, but that came on the heels of a very hot and dry summer. There was flooding, but not this bad...

[GAStorm]

Hey Constructionwx,

Sounds like you guys may have about as much rain as here. Cobb county has had some bad flooding near the creeks and rivers, but I think Fulton may be just as bad. I saw that same news story last night with the ballpark under water! :o Luckily, we will have Fri-Mon to dry out!!

[Constructionwx]

Hey Jet, I broke down and did the math. Since 09/01/02, I've had 56.32" of rain. So, I'm about a foot behind you there in Douglasville.

GAStorm, I'm looking forward to a dry weekend for a change. My grass is about 2 ft high.

[JetMaxx]

Hey RP, it's sure been a "wet spell" as my grandmother would say

What's even more amazing is January and February were dry here -- only 2.20" in January (50% of normal).

I've never seen 23" of rain fall in May and June before. It sorta reminds me of the summer of 1974....another very mild, wet, wild, and stormy summer in this area.

[PTrackerLA]

It sounds really serious over there, I hope you guys get a chance to dry out!

[Constructionwx]

It sounds really serious over there, I hope you guys get a chance to dry out!

I never thought I would hear myself saying this, especially after the prolonged drought that we had been in, but.... I wish the rain would stop. Even if it's just for a week or two. I heard on the radio this AM something that I already knew firsthand, this wx is crippling the construction industry. Builders are losing their tails on construction loan interest. They are paying big bucks to own 30- 40- 50 mudholes.

[JetMaxx]

Maybe you'll have some good fortune ahead RP....I hope so. It looks bone dry from now through at least Thursday of next week; maybe the break everyone is needing to let things dry out.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

Perry

[Guest]

Well Jetmaxx it does look to be dry down that way into next week with any chance of rain possibly along the FL/GA border..............Most areas in the Se should dry out this weekend into next week with the exception beeing FL where the front will get hung up plus a good feed of moisture comming in from the Gulf it may like i said get as far north as the Se coast of Ga and that should be it.....................The humidity should be somewhat lower in these areas as well except of course FL.................Have a nice weekend guys..........

[JetMaxx]

Thanks KOW....it was near perfection both yesterday and today. High today was 81° with dewpoints near 50°...after a morning low of a record breaking 57° (currently 71° degrees and a 51° dpt).

I'm enjoying it while it lasts....because the summer humidity (dewpoints 68-72°) are only a couple days away. This may be the last early Autumn-type humidity levels we see in metro Atlanta until September.