With the threat of lightning and flooding, AJC Peachtree Road Race race organizers are questioning how to handle the annual July 4th event.
“It looks like most of the Fourth will be very, very wet,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist David Chandley said Wednesday.
City of Atlanta officials plan to go ahead with the race, but on Wednesday hadn’t ruled out postponing the event. Other events across the metro area already have been called off.
“Right now we are looking to have a great event that might be just a little wet,” Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said.
In the best case scenario, according to forecasters, some 60,000 runners can expect a rainy progression from Buckhead down Peachtree Road.
There is an 80 percent chance of rain at 7 a.m. Thursday. The risk of severe weather is very low, but the risk of rain is very high, Chandley said.
Rich gulf moisture continues to flow into North Georgia, with rainfall in some areas already topping 4 inches, Chandley said. Additional rainfall of 2 to 4 inches is expected through Friday, he said.
“There are and will continue to be numerous flash flood warnings for metro counties,” Chandley said. “Roads, creeks and streams will easily flood in areas that have seen the heaviest rain (Wednesday). The severe weather risk is low, but some of the storms will produce lightning and gusty winds.”
There were reports of significant flood problems in Union County, with up to 6 inches of rain in isolated areas, Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said.
All of metro Atlanta is under a flash flood watch through Friday morning and Fulton and Forsyth counties are also under a flood warning until Friday afternoon. According to Channel 2, both are affected by Big Creek, which is expected to reach the flood stage of 8 feet by Thursday evening.
At least it won’t be hot. A high of 77 is expected on Thursday.
More seasonal temperatures are expected by the weekend, with highs returning to the mid- to upper-80s and lows around 70 by Friday.
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