The storms that swept through north Georgia over the past 48 hours dumped more than a half-foot of rain in some areas, prompting flood warnings from the northeast suburbs of metro Atlanta to the mountains and significantly increasing the level of Lake Lanier.
White County in the northeast corner of the state was under a flash flood warning early Tuesday, with forecasters predicting that the Chattahoochee River at Helen would crest about a foot above flood stage.
Flood warnings were also in effect early Tuesday for Big Creek in Forsyth County, Sweetwater Creek in Gwinnett County and the Alcovy River in Gwinnett and Walton counties.
Rainfall totals across metro Atlanta since the rain began on Sunday ranged from 2.28 inches at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 2.81 inches in Chamblee to 3.8 inches in Johns Creek and 4.08 inches in Alpharetta.
In northeast Georgia, 8.48 inches of rain was recorded in Dahlonega, while Gainesville reported 7.38 inches.
All that rain was beneficial for Lake Lanier.
The lake’s level at 5 a.m. Tuesday was 1,062.19 feet above sea level, an increase of 1.27 feet over Saturday’s level.
There were a few scattered reports of trees falling overnight across metro Atlanta, knocking out electricity to some Georgia Power customers. The utility reported that about 1,400 metro customers and 5,500 customers statewide were without power before daybreak Tuesday.
In Johns Creek, a tree came down in front of Wilson Creek Elementary School early Monday evening, blocking Wilson Road. Crews worked overnight to clear the debris, and the road had reopened by the Tuesday morning commute.
Another tree fell on top of a Toyota that was parked on Charles Allen Drive in Midtown Atlanta. No one was in the car at the time.
In DeKalb County, a tree fell on Melvin Lucas’ home, coming within “four feet of hitting me,” the man told Channel 2 Action News.
By 6 a.m. Tuesday, the bulk of the rain had moved well east of Atlanta, into the Athens area, and Channel 2 meteorologist Karen Minton said the metro area should be dry the rest of the day.
Minton’s forecast for the remainder of the week calls for mostly sunny skies Wednesday through Saturday. Highs will be in the 70s Tuesday and Wednesday, and in the low 80s Thursday through Saturday.
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