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Record-Breaking Rain In Atlanta Prompts Flood Warnings

April 24th, 2018

A person carries his dry cleaning while walking in the rain through midtown Atlanta.

David Goldman / Associated Press

Atlanta had record rainfall Monday, with The National Weather Service in Peacthree City recording 4.16 inches of rain in the city.

That shattered a record that was set in 1883. Then, Atlanta got only 2.4 inches of precipitation.

Kyle Thiem, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, called the rain event abnormal.

“Anytime we’re getting 4 inches of rain in one day in the Atlanta region that’s definitely cause for concern,” Thiem said. “It prompted us to put out a flood watch which usually we’re only issuing a few flood watches a year.”

Thiem said that much rain in such a short period of time saturates the ground giving new rainfall nowhere to go.

“We’re just more susceptible otherwise than we might be to some temporary flooding whether it be in urbanized areas or along creeks,” he said.

Flood watches for Big Creek near Cumming and Alpharetta were raised to flood warnings. The National Weather Service expects the creek near Cumming to return to normal levels by Tuesday afternoon.

Near Alpharetta, levels should return to normal by Wednesday evening.

Forecasts show more rain is headed our way later this week.