Several weather alerts are active across Georgia today, with flooding threats in the southwest, dense fog in the north, dangerous surf conditions on the southeast coast, and a river expected to rise above flood stage by Tuesday.
Southwest Georgia flooding: Two flood advisories cover a large stretch of southwestern Georgia counties after heavy thunderstorm rain overnight and into Monday morning.
The first advisory covers Clay, Quitman, and Randolph counties and expires at 10:45 AM. Radar showed heavy rain at 7:47 AM. Between 3 and 6 inches have already fallen, with 1 to 2 more inches expected. Towns at risk include Fort Gaines, Cuthbert, and Shellman.
The second advisory covers Calhoun, Dougherty, Early, Lee, Terrell, and portions of Clay and Randolph counties and expires at 10:00 AM. Between 2 and 3 inches have fallen, with 1 to 3 more inches expected. Towns at risk include Blakely, Morgan, Edison, Arlington, and Sasser, among others.
Both advisories warn of minor flooding in low-lying areas and water over roads. Drivers should not drive through flooded roads. Most flood deaths happen in vehicles.
North Georgia fog: Fifteen north Georgia counties are under a special weather statement for patchy dense fog that is cutting visibility to between one-quarter and one-half of a mile. The statement expires at 10:00 AM, when the fog is expected to lift.
Counties affected: Pickens, Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Cherokee, Forsyth, Hall, Banks, Jackson, Madison, Gwinnett, Barrow, Clarke, Oconee, and Oglethorpe.
Drivers in those areas should slow down, use low-beam headlights, and leave extra space between vehicles.
Southeast Georgia beaches: A rip current statement is in effect for beaches in Coastal Glynn and Coastal Camden counties through 5:00 AM Tuesday. The dangerous rip current conditions are expected from Tuesday morning through late Wednesday night.
Rip currents can pull even strong swimmers away from shore into deeper water. Swimmers should stay near a lifeguard. If caught in a rip current, relax and float, do not swim against the current, swim parallel to shore if possible, or face the shore and wave or call for help.
St. Mary’s River, Charlton County: A flood warning is in effect for the St. Mary’s River at Macclenny, which affects Charlton County on the Georgia side. The National Weather Service in Jacksonville issued the warning, which runs until 9:00 PM Monday, with an updated statement expected Monday evening.
As of 7:45 PM Sunday, the river was at 10.2 feet. Flood stage is 12.0 feet. The river is forecast to rise above flood stage late Tuesday morning and crest at 14.0 feet Tuesday evening.
At 14.0 feet, bottomlands and some lower access roads flood, including the lower half of St. Mary’s River Bluff Road on the Georgia side, cutting off 15 to 20 homes. At 16.0 feet, the entire low-lying stretch of St. Mary’s River Bluff Road floods, cutting off 40 to 50 homes on the Georgia side, and the Stokes Road Bridge over the river is expected to close.
More flood safety information is available at weather.gov/safety/flood.
B.T. Clark is the Publisher of The Georgia Sun and author of Principles Are Like Pants… You Ought to Have Some. Over two decades in journalism, he has served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc., earning multiple awards along the way. His work has appeared in newspapers across the state, including The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal.
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