There is an end in sight to the rainfall. But the flooded roadways and yards, some now featuring rivers, won’t be gone quite as fast.
By Wednesday night, expect scattered showers to dwindle, Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz said. The threat of flooding will linger, prompting the National Weather Service to extend a flood watch for all of metro Atlanta as well as the rest of north and central Georgia through 7 p.m. on Friday.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal expanded the state of emergency Wednesday to include Gordon, Macon, Towns, Troup and Wilkes counties. Deal also extended the emergency declaration issued last week for Fannin, Gilmer and Pickens counties to Jan. 7.
Showers are possible again Thursday morning, Nitz said, but New Year’s Eve won’t be a washout. Rain is expected to clear by the afternoon, just in time for those heading out to to celebrate.
If you can’t remember a December ever being so wet and warm, you’re right, unless you were around in 1919. That year, Atlanta had a record 12.94 inches of rain in December, according to Nitz. Late Wednesday, 12.21 inches of rain had fallen in the current month.
But, December 2015 likely will go down in history for being the warmest ever.
The warmest December had an average temperature of 57.2 degrees in 1889, Nitz said. So far this month, the Atlanta average temperature is 57.5 degrees. The normal December temperature averages 45.3 degrees.
Along with the end of the rain, the forecast includes much cooler weather through the weekend and into Monday, Nitz said.
After Thursday’s high temperature hits 60 degrees, metro Atlanta won’t be warmer than the low to middle 50s for several days, Nitz said. Weekend lows will dip into the 30s.
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