[9:27 p.m.]: A flash flood watch was issued for 57 Georgia counties, including most of metro Atlanta's Southside, for Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.
An additional 1 to 2 inches of rain is possible south of I-20, according to Channel 2 Action News meteorologist Brad Nitz. The counties under the water include Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, Newton, Spalding and Troup counties.
For a full list of the counties affected, click here.
A new flash flood watch has been issued for Thursday. An additional 1-2 inches will bring the threat for flooding mainly south of I-20.
— Brad Nitz (@BradNitzWSB) February 20, 2020
Remember, the snowfall threat continues for parts of north Georgia Thursday as well. I'll have the latest on both threats live on Channel 2. pic.twitter.com/dncmHXFRdG
UPDATE [2:47 p.m.]: A winter weather advisory was issued for 10 far North Georgia counties ahead of expected snow Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
The advisory will go into effect at 5 a.m. Thursday and last until 1 a.m. Friday. The counties under the advisory are Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Habersham, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun, Towns, Union and White.
Higher elevations could get up to 2 inches of snow, while lower elevations are expected to see up to an inch.
ORIGINAL STORY: With all the rain from the past few weeks, this month is shaping up to be the 10th-wettest February on record.
There’s more than a week to go before the end of the month, and Atlanta has already recorded more than 5 inches above average rainfall, according to Channel 2 Action News. That’s not including the additional 2 to 3 inches still expected to fall this week.
Nearly 8.5 inches of rain have fallen in Atlanta since Feb. 1, Channel 2 meteorologist Brian Monahan said. Nearly 2 inches have fallen in the past 24 hours.
“The average to this point in February is about 3 inches of rain,” he said. “We are way above that, and we're going to add more rain here over the next couple of days.”
Showers Wednesday morning are adding to the rainfall totals. The rain is light and should move south by midmorning, but Monahan said it could amount to an additional half-inch to an inch of accumulation.
“We're going to keep those roads wet for the morning drive,” he said. “A slow morning commute. Leave plenty of following distance between you and the car in front of you.”
It looks like North Georgia will get a break in the wet weather this afternoon, when Monahan said temperatures are forecast to rise into the upper 50s and some infrequent sunshine breaks through the clouds. The respite will not last long.
Another round of rain is 100% likely for Thursday morning, according to Channel 2.
“It’s just going to be rain early tomorrow morning, but we're going to go from 50s down into the 30s and 40s as that rain moves in,” Monahan said. “Everybody is above freezing as that rain starts to fall around metro Atlanta, and then temperatures start to drop.”
By early afternoon, he said there is an increasing risk of a mixture of rain and snow in the northeast Georgia mountains. In metro Atlanta, it should just be a cold rain.
“That will move out, and drier and colder weather moves in for (late) Thursday afternoon,” Monahan said.
Thursday is not expected to get out of the 40s, according to Channel 2. Friday should see more of the same with subfreezing morning lows and a projected high of 46 degrees.
The biggest difference is the sunshine. Friday is the first day this week without a chance of rain in the forecast. The dry spell continues only until Saturday, with a 20% chance of showers moving in Sunday, according to Channel 2.
Despite the wet pavement, WSB traffic reporter Mark Arum said there are no major issues in and out of Midtown on Wednesday morning.
No major crashes have jammed up the interstates, the WSB 24-hour Traffic Center reported at 6 a.m.
With all the wet weather, flooding is ongoing at local rivers and streams and it is possible trees will come down. In Coweta County, a fallen tree was blocking Martin Mill Road north of Gordon Road, the Traffic Center reported.
Drivers are advised to avoid the area.
» For a detailed forecast, visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution weather page.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
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