ATLANTA FORECAST
Thursday: High: 77
Thursday night: Low: 69
Friday: High: 80
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
[11:03 p.m.]: A tree fell on a MARTA bus in southwest Atlanta on Empire Boulevard due to weather, Channel 2 Action News reported. No one was injured in the incident.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News

Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
[9:15 p.m.]: A flash flood warning has been issued for Butts, Lamar and Upson counties until 3 a.m. Friday by the NWS. Henry, Pike and Spalding counties had their flash flood warnings extended until 3 a.m. too.
Flash Flood Warning including Thomaston GA, Locust Grove GA, Hannahs Mill GA until 3:00 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/LM6AigqmXT
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) August 3, 2018
[8:28 p.m.]: A downed tree on the I-75 exit ramp to Forest Parkway in Clayton County has been cleared, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported.
Clayton Co.: Tree removed from roadway on I-75/sb exit ramp to Forest Pkwy (Ex. 237). Heavy rainfall leaving wet roads throughout the area--drive with caution and reduced speeds.
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) August 3, 2018
[7:54 p.m.]: A flash flood warning has been issued for Clayton, DeKalb and Henry counties until 1:45 a.m. Friday by the NWS. Fayette and Fulton counties have had their flash flood warnings extended until 1:45 a.m. as well.
Flash Flood Warning including East Point GA, Forest Park GA, Riverdale GA until 1:45 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/Vl5LvlgfV3
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) August 2, 2018
[6:10 p.m.]: A flash flood warning has been issued for Fulton, Fayette, Coweta, Meriwether, Pike and Spalding counties until midnight by the National Weather Service.
Flash Flood Warning including Peachtree City GA, Newnan GA, Fayetteville GA until 12:00 AM EDT pic.twitter.com/UD4xxlDmBO
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) August 2, 2018
[6:08 p.m.]: Fire and smoke have been cleared from the northbound track at the North Avenue station, MARTA tweeted. Normal service is beginning to resume.
Fire & smoke clear from NB track at at North Ave. Normal service is resuming on the NB platform at North-Read more: https://t.co/DIaRBOQILk
— MARTA (@MARTASERVICE) August 2, 2018
[5:59 p.m.]: All severe thunderstorm warnings in North Georgia have expired after a storm capable of producing a tornado moved through a few east metro Atlanta counties. A flash flood warning is still active for Floyd County until 10:30 p.m., and all of North Georgia remains under a flash flood watch until Friday morning.
Here's what we were tracking near Monticello. #StormWatchOn2 pic.twitter.com/qN9EKJ821W
— Glenn Burns (@GlennBurnsWSB) August 2, 2018
[5:14 p.m.]: The tornado warnings for Butts, Jasper and Putnam counties have expired, the NWS reported. The severe thunderstorm warning for Putnam and Morgan counties continues until 5:45 p.m.
[5:10 p.m.]:
MARTA’s
North and South lines are extensively delayed due to a small track fire, according to a tweet. Single-tracking is in effect.
Extensive delays on North/ South line (due to small track way fire). Single tracking is in effect at-Read more: https://t.co/UHscOTdtEK
— MARTA (@MARTASERVICE) August 2, 2018
[5 p.m.]: The tornado warning for Putnam County has expired, the NWS reported. Jasper, Butts and Newton counties remain under a tornado warning until 5:15 p.m.
[4:58 p.m.]: A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Jasper, Morgan and Putnam counties until 5:30 p.m., the NWS said.
[4:46 p.m.]: A tornado warning for Monroe County has expired, the NWS said. Tornado warnings continue until 5 p.m. for Putnam County and until 5:15 p.m. for Butts, Jasper and Newton counties.
[4:44 p.m.]: Live power wires and trees are down on Turner Road at Lake Jodeco, the Clayton County Sheriff's Office said.
Hardys Crossroads, Stark Road, you need to TAKE COVER NOW: https://t.co/6Hvw5uFYO9 #StormWatchOn2 pic.twitter.com/c3iIbQA4R6
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) August 2, 2018
[4:43 p.m.] A MARTA track issue at the North Avenue station is causing delays on the North/South line.
A track way issue at North Ave is causing delays on North/ South line.
— MARTA (@MARTASERVICE) August 2, 2018
[4:42 p.m.]:
A tornado warning has been extended for Butts and Jasper counties and issued for Newton County until 5:15 p.m., the NWS said.
Tornado Warning including Stewart GA until 5:15 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/G1jXVVK8ed
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) August 2, 2018
[4:40 p.m.]: The flash flood warning for Floyd County has been extended until 10:30 p.m., according to the NWS.
Flash Flood Warning including Cave Spring GA until 10:30 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/bsUGsGbmC2
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) August 2, 2018
[4:31 p.m.]: The tornado warning for Jones County has expired, the NWS said.
[4:27 p.m.]: The tornado warnings for Jasper and Putnam counties have been extended by the NWS until 5 p.m.
Tornado Warning including Shady Dale GA until 5:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/5KiEvX4rTY
— NWS Atlanta (@NWSAtlanta) August 2, 2018
[4:11 p.m.]:
A new tornado warning have been issued for Butts, Monroe and Jasper counties until 4:45 p.m., the Weather Service reported.
New TORNADO WARNING issued for Butts, Jasper, and Monroe counties until 4:45pm.
— Glenn Burns (@GlennBurnsWSB) August 2, 2018
UPDATE [4:05 p.m.]: The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Jasper, Jones and Putnam counties until 4:30 p.m. Those counties are about 60 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.
TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY! Tornado Warning issued in Jasper, Putnam and Jones counties #StormWatchOn2
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) August 2, 2018
WATCH @GlennBurnsWSB LIVE HERE - https://t.co/SwRqIW5KvC pic.twitter.com/FUAo7nE378
ORIGINAL STORY: All of North Georgia remains under a flash flood watch Thursday afternoon as rain continues to fall on already soggy soil.
The watch is in effect through Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Flash flood watch remains in effect. I'm tracking periods of heavy rain live on @wsbtv at Noon. See you then. pic.twitter.com/6CSqqv9qC2
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) August 2, 2018
In Floyd County, authorities are asking drivers to avoid the town of Cave Spring as flooding has closed several roads and threatened evacuations. Police have blocked U.S. 411 into the city.
Rising flood waters also caused Cave Spring Elementary to close early on its first day of school. It will remain closed Friday.
Developing: Flood waters swamp town of Cave Spring. Roads blocked, schools and business closed. Live update at 4pm. pic.twitter.com/iGMOIMY9ow
— Tom Regan (@tomreganWSB) August 2, 2018
Coosa Middle School and Coosa High School students whose home addresses are in Cave Spring were also released from school at noon, the Rome News-Tribune reported.
Up to 2 inches of rain have already fallen, prompting the Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for Floyd.
“We just have Red Cross on standby in the eventuality that they do have to evacuate (homes),” Floyd Emergency Management Director Tim Herrington told AJC.com.
Cave Spring is starting to see a break in the heavy rain, he said, but the Weather Service predicts an additional half-inch will fall before the day is over.
FLASH FLOOD WARNING: Over 2" of rainfall in the last 12 hours in Cave Spring, 4"+ this week. On @wsbtv now. pic.twitter.com/Le2xEwAyzv
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) August 2, 2018
“We’re hoping that the break that we get will allow some runoff,” he said.
All truck traffic detour Cave Spring. pic.twitter.com/wCwrYuGSZD
— Floyd County Police Dept (@FloydPolice) August 2, 2018
All this rain could mean ponding on metro Atlanta roadways. Accidents aren't too bad so far, with only a few incidents causing slight backups on the Downtown Connector, according to the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center.
A crash on the Connector near Courtland Street has been moved to the right shoulder, but delays linger, the Traffic Center reported.
Downtown: Crash Cleared: I-75/85/sb at Courtland St.; now on the right shoulder; delays continue;https://t.co/MhPvicYKPN; #atltraffic pic.twitter.com/LtiR8rDkzK
— AJC WSB Traffic (@ajcwsbtraffic) August 2, 2018
“Keep those umbrellas handy,” Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Karen Minton said. “We’re not done with the rain just yet.”
Thursday should be just as wet as Wednesday, and most areas can expect another 1 to 2 inches of rain. Some places could see up to 3 inches, according to Channel 2.
Periods of heavy rain today will bring 1" - 2" additional rain with isolated 3" amounts through Friday morning. The Flash Flood Watch is expected to expire Friday morning. pic.twitter.com/4lIDc13ymm
— Karen Minton (@KarenMintonWSB) August 2, 2018
If Wednesday was any indication, the rain could make a mess of the evening commute, especially now that thousands more metro Atlanta students are back in school.
Marietta, Buford and Forsyth County schools started back Thursday. Expect to take it slow around dismissal time when students start the soggy trek home.
Welcome #Back2School City of Marietta Schools students, teachers and staff. Have a great first day back to school. pic.twitter.com/4m2pLGPygM
— Karen Minton (@KarenMintonWSB) August 2, 2018
Minton said a trough of tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico remains “open for business” and is the reason Georgia continues to get hammered with rain day after day this week.
“That tropical air just has us socked in, so more showers are with us as disturbances roll through today,” she said. “Some of that rain’s going to be heavy.”
A fire hose of moisture continues into the southeast. I'll show you when we could see a break in 3 minutes. https://t.co/rBJcSYLbnK #StormWatchOn2 pic.twitter.com/T0UOD4JPDO
— Glenn Burns (@GlennBurnsWSB) August 1, 2018
It will be wet on and off through the day, but the strongest showers and storms will roll through Thursday evening and should continue overnight, according to Channel 2.
The rain and cloud cover are keeping temperatures low. Really low.
The predicted high for Thursday is a cool 79 degrees, which is more than 10 degrees below the average for this time of year, according to Channel 2. It’s currently 77.
“It feels more like April temperatures than it does the first part of August,” Minton said.
As the storm patterns start to dissipate and move the rain west into Alabama, the temperature will begin to creep back into the upper 80s. The rain chances should do the opposite and drop to about 40 percent for the weekend.
All the rain this week has raised the Chattahoochee River’s E. coli levels to dangerous levels. So don’t enter the ’Hooch until the bacteria levels drop to safe amounts.

» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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