Daily showers through Memorial Day and beyond to bring rain, flood risks

“Basically, we’re in a very wet pattern right now, and this pattern looks like it’s going to continue at least for another week or two,” Vaughn Smith, a National Weather Service forecaster, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a Thursday phone interview.

That’s on top of what Atlantans saw Wednesday, when downpours caused flash flooding, stranding drivers and temporarily creating a shallow waterway on the Downtown Connector.

Along with the showers, heat has also settled over the area. Smith said temperatures have hovered in the 80s and 90s, about 4 to 10 degrees above normal for this time of year.

On Memorial Day, the high will reach 83 degrees and rain is expected throughout the day in Atlanta, with the heaviest and most widespread showers coming after 2 p.m.

For the most part, the daily rainfall could come anytime throughout the day but afternoons tend to get soggier. The threat for severe weather remains low, according to the Weather Service, but gusty winds, frequent lightning and flash flooding could occur.

Over a seven-day stretch from Thursday to Wednesday, Smith said areas north of I-20 could get between 2 to 4 inches of rain. That means every day will see about a half inch. Some isolated areas, such as parts of northeast Georgia and northern Fulton County, could get slightly higher totals.

Smith said North Georgia already got between a half inch to 2½ inches of rain Wednesday, flooding areas in Atlanta. Some of that standing water had yet to fully recede Thursday morning.

Credit: Ben Hendren

Credit: Ben Hendren

Smith described Wednesday’s storm as a “typical Georgia summertime storm” and said poor drainage caused water to settle on roads in urban areas. The downpours expected over the next several days won’t be much different from what came Wednesday, he added.

“It also looked like there were some drainage issues with some of the drains, so that water didn’t have anywhere to go, so it just piled up very quickly,” Smith said. “But we did notice that some of our creeks around the area did not really rise as fast as what you saw on the roadways, so we didn’t have any creek flooding or any river flooding.”

The city of Atlanta said in a Wednesday statement it was coordinating with departments to address hazards, drainage concerns and public safety amid the flooding. A city spokesperson said drivers should avoid standing water and report nonemergency issues through ATL311.

Natalie Dale, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Transportation, said crews worked late Wednesday to check and clear drains of trash and debris.

“A good reminder to people that their trash has to go somewhere and when they litter on a roadway system … their trash will end up in the system often causing issues,” Dale said, adding that it includes tires and other vehicle debris.

Officials from the Atlanta Department of Transportation and Atlanta Watershed Management did not immediately respond to requests for information about storm preparations and flood protection efforts.

Credit: Provided

Credit: Provided

In South Georgia, the Weather Service said there are also daily chances for afternoon thunderstorms through the end of the week and into next week.

According to the most recent data by the National Integrated Drought Information System, North and Middle Georgia remain in an extreme and severe drought. Most of South Georgia is under an exceptional drought. As of Tuesday, just over half of the U.S. was in a drought.

The drought is not likely to end because of the daily rounds of showers, but anything helps. For the drought to be eliminated in the Atlanta area, Smith said 18½ inches of water would need to be dumped.

“It’s just going to take a lot more rain, probably months. Now, if we had a tropical system come through here and drop a lot of water, that would definitely (eliminate the drought), but that much water that fast would also be flooding issues,” he said.