A major downtown intersection has reopened after being shut down before daybreak Thursday while firefighters worked to clear a large tree that came crashing down following Wednesday evening’s heavy rain and severe storms.
The tree, which blocked the intersection of Spring and Williams streets at 5 a.m., was one of dozens down across metro Atlanta as forecasters predicted the possibility of more rain and storms on Thursday.
“One of the concerns today is the very saturated ground, and any heavy rain can cause additional flooding or at least ponding on the roads,” Channel 2 meteorologist Brad Nitz said early Thursday, adding that widespread heavy rain was not expected.
Several fires were believed to have been sparked by lightning as storms developed Wednesday afternoon, including at least five in Gwinnett County and another in Clayton County.
In Paulding County, crews worked overnight to pump fuel out of the underground tanks at a Kroger gas station after a lightning strike buckled the pavement over the tank, according to Channel 2 Action News.
Witnesses reported that chunks of cement and the caps to the fuel tanks were blown into the air when the lightning hit at the Kroger on Ridge Road near Dallas.
A flash flood watch posted Wednesday afternoon was canceled overnight as the heavy rain fhat flooded some metro Atlanta streets diminished.
Nitz said that while the coverage shouldn’t be as widespread as on Wednesday, there’s a 30 to 40 percent chance of more rain daily through Sunday.
Highs will be in the upper 80s through the weekend, with lows in the low 70s.
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