Heavy rain from overnight and early morning thunderstorms has triggered flash flood warnings, a flood advisory, and severe weather alerts across more than a dozen counties in southeast and south-central Georgia.
What’s happening: The National Weather Service has issued three separate flash flood warnings, a flood advisory covering four counties, and two severe weather statements — all active Friday morning. Roads, low-lying areas, and drainage-prone streets in the affected areas are flooding or expected to flood shortly.
Flash flood warnings in effect:
- Ben Hill, Irwin, and Turner counties until 10:00 a.m. Towns affected include Fitzgerald, Ocilla, Mystic, Rebecca, Irwinville, Bowens Mill, Wray, and Amboy, among others.
- Central Coffee County and southwestern Jeff Davis County until 10:00 a.m. Towns affected include Broxton, Pridgen, and West Green.
- Northwestern Bacon County and east central Coffee County until 10:30 a.m. Towns affected include Alma and Nicholls.
Flood advisory: Appling, Bacon, Coffee, and Jeff Davis counties are under a flood advisory until 11:00 a.m. Between 1 and 2.5 inches of rain have already fallen across those areas, with up to 1.5 more inches expected. Towns in the advisory area include Douglas, Baxley, Alma, Broxton, Ambrose, Nicholls, West Green, Snipesville, Pridgen, and Denton. Minor flooding in low-lying and poorly drained spots is ongoing or expected to begin shortly.
Severe weather statements: Two additional alerts cover separate parts of the region.
A storm moving southeast at 25 mph near Cordele is bringing wind gusts up to 40 mph, lightning, and heavy rain to Crisp and Wilcox counties. That statement expires at 9:15 a.m. Towns in the path include Cordele, Rochelle, Arabi, Pitts, East Crisp, Double Run, Wenona, Owensboro, Seville, and Hatley.
A separate storm — about 7 miles southeast of Alma and moving southeast at 30 mph — is capable of producing landspouts, wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph, and pea-size hail. That statement covered Bacon, Appling, Wayne, Pierce, and northern Ware counties and expired at 9:00 a.m. Towns in that path included Alma, Blackshear, Patterson, Screven, Offerman, Jamestown, Bristol, and New Lacy.
By the numbers: Across the warned areas, between 1.5 and 3 inches of rain had already fallen as of early Friday morning. An additional 1 to 2 inches is possible in the flash flood warning zones.
What this means for you: Do not drive through flooded roads. Weather officials say most flood deaths happen in vehicles. If you can hear thunder, go inside immediately.
The path forward: All active warnings and advisories expire by 11:00 a.m. Friday.
I wonder which Biblical plague I’ll be experiencing next week. Knowing Georgia’s weather, I’m betting on hail.
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B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
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