Rainfall slacks; flood warning in effect until midnight

By Larry Hartstein and Mike Morris

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Much of the rain is over for the evening, forecasters said.

Still, most of metro Atlanta remains under a flood warning until midnight.

Scattered light rain will continue throughout the evening across metro Atlanta. While the rain will diminish Monday night, another round of heavy rain is forecast for Wednesday.

The National Weather Service issued the warning for Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Cherokee, Forsyth, Douglas and Paulding counties. Two to three inches of rain have fallen across the area since early Monday morning.

There's been widespread minor flooding of many rivers, creeks and steams, and numerous roads were closed in low-lying areas, the weather service said. The rain also was an apparent factor in a fatal Douglas County crash.

Among roads impacted by high water are the bridge over Deep Creek, closed due to flooding, and Cochran Road near West Stubbs Road in southwest Atlanta.

The Chattahoochee, Alcovy and Yellow rivers, Big Creek, Nancy Creek, Peachtree Creek and Level Creek were among the waterways that flooded Monday.

"It was a widespread two to four inches, and when the whole basin gets a good dousing, that's a lot of water to deal with," said Kent Frantz, senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service.

It's been nearly three weeks since the severe flooding that killed 10 people. Frantz said the soil "wasn't completely saturated" before the rain hit Monday.

Now, however, "the stage has been set for flooding to happen more easily," Frantz said. "That's our concern for Tuesday night going into Wednesday."

The rain began falling around 3 a.m. Monday, and much of metro Atlanta had already recorded more than 3 inches of rain by noon, with some areas reporting nearly 4 inches.

In DeKalb County, flooding closed the intersection of Panola and Snapfinger roads in front of the Lou Walker Senior Center.

It was two steps forward, one step back for Douglas County. Over the weekend, four major roads there finally reopened: Chapel Hill Rd., Rose Ave., Dorset Shoals Rd., and Anneewakee Rd.

But as Monday's rains started localized flooding, officials got word that Mt. Vernon Road at Woodrow Wilson park was flooding and likely to close, said Douglas County spokesman Wes Tallon.

"That is right on the banks of Sweetwater Creek, and I mean if it just rains a little bit it floods," Tallon said.

Also in Douglas County, the Georgia State Patrol said the heavy rain contributed to a fatal wreck on I-20 near Post Road. WAGA-TV reported that the driver of a Lexus sedan hydroplaned on the wet road, colliding with a tractor-trailer. The Lexus driver was killed.

Brannan Road in Gwinnett County was closed late Monday morning because of flooding. Authorities were detouring traffic onto Bethany Church and Leach roads. Pittman Circle also was closed.

In Forsyth County, portions of Tidwell, Fowler, Settingdown and Kemp roads and Marketplace Boulevard were closed as of 2:10 p.m., said Capt. Frank Huggins of the Sheriff's Office.

In Banks County, emergency management officials reported flooding along Webbs Creek Road and in the parking lot of the Tanger Factory Outlet Mall at I-85 and U.S. 441. About 4.5 inches of rain fell near the Banks/Jackson county line, most in north Georgia.

Cobb County Police spokesman Dana Pierce said some unincorporated parts of the county had high water – but not flooding – on several roads. Officers were sent to those locations to warn motorists, he said. Some of the spots were North Hadaway at Silesboro Road, Anderson Mill Road at Austell Road, Cobb Parkway at White Circle and Prado Lane in the Town Center Mall area.

About 200 Georgia Power customers in the Roswell area were without electricity Monday morning after a tree fell across Willeo Road, closing the road near the Chattahoochee Nature Center. The Brookfield Country Club neighborhood in Roswell also sustained flooding damage.

Lake Lanier rose to 1070.43 feet by 1:30 p.m., within range of full pool. The lake has not reached full pool of 1071 feet since September 2005.

After a mostly sunny Tuesday, the chance of rain is pegged at 90 percent on Wednesday, 60 percent on Thursday and 20 percent Friday and Saturday.

Afternoon highs will be in the low 60s on Monday, low 70s on Tuesday, mid-60s on Wednesday and low 70s on Thursday. Highs should hold in the 60s Friday through Sunday, the forecasters said.

Overnight lows this week will be mostly in the 50s, cooling to the low 40s on Saturday night.

--Staff writers Ariel Hart, Ralph Ellis, Marcus K. Garner  and Ty Tagami contributed to this article.