Evening storms could bring more flash flooding to metro Atlanta

Some already soggy spots around metro Atlanta could flood as heavy rain is expected to drench parts of the region starting Tuesday afternoon.

Isolated rain showers are projected to pop up across the area beginning around 2 p.m. and develop into widespread storms closer to nightfall. And while no flash flood watch or warning is in place as of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service cautions that “localized flash flooding in addition to nuisance flooding is likely to accompany storms that develop.”

Afternoon showers should gradually ramp up around 6 p.m. with the most intense round hitting closer to 11 p.m. They should start to taper off through the overnight hours.

The severe weather threat with these storms is low, at a Level 1 of 5 risk for North Georgia, according to the NWS Storm Prediction Center. But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be damaging. The greatest concern is for localized flash flooding, and there is a Level 2 of 4 threat for excessive rainfall.

“Storms will be efficient rain producers, thus leading to an increased risk for flash flooding,” the NWS warns. “With many areas having received a good bit of rain over the past few days, additional rainfall may cause some problems.”

Nearly 1.5 inches of rain has fallen since Friday — and that’s just what was collected by the NWS Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport rain gauge. Other areas have been hit harder, especially when Friday’s storms dumped several inches of rain on areas such as Silverbacks Park in DeKalb County. Floodwaters inundated several cars there and washed the license plate off one.