"Today, scattered showers. Then widespread showers and scattered thunderstorms this afternoon," the National Weather Services 6:30 a.m. forecast said. The storms could bring locally heavy rainfall. Highs will be in the upper 70s with southwest winds 5 to 10 mph, becoming northwest this afternoon. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
It will start clearing overnight with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Fog could develop after midnight, when lows could be in the mid 60s, and could present a few visibility problems for commuters Wednesday morning.
The weather will definitely be kinder on us than it has much of the rest of the state. Here's an Associated Press story:
Drenching rains hit north Georgia, flood watch issued
ATLANTA (AP) - Heavy rains left Six Flags Over Georgia submerged in standing water Monday and crews rescued a woman found floating on a dresser inside an Atlanta home.
The rain began to taper off by early evening, but not before dropping 4.77 inches in Columbus, the highest amount in the state, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Leery. A total of 2.81 inches had fallen in metro Atlanta in 24 hours.
Six Flags spokeswoman Kendell Kelton said officials weren't sure how much standing water was in the park, though broadcast reports showed a roller coaster surrounded by what appeared to be several feet of water. There was no damage and Six Flags has endured flooding on its back side, which is by the Chattahoochee River, for decades, Kelton said.
"It's business as usual," she said.
The park is open only on weekends until May 22, and park hours won't be affected.
The Atlanta Fire and Rescue Department and Cobb County rescued a woman who was trapped in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood after Nancy Creek surged over of its banks. Fire department spokesman Capt. Jolyon Bundrige said authorities haven't identified the woman found floating on a dresser inside the home but said she wasn't injured. A maid working in a second building on the property called authorities.
The rains left deep water on many Atlanta-area streets and made the morning commute treacherous at times. Motorists encountered deep, fast-moving water and the rain reduced visibility. There were numerous accidents, some due to standing water and others caused by fog and poor visibility, said Crystal Paulk-Buchanan, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation. Some lanes were closed on Interstate 20 west of Atlanta because of standing water, she said.
The NWS fielded afternoon reports of tornadoes in Warren and Glascock counties and the service issued a flash flood watch for the northern half of Georgia until early Tuesday, including metro Atlanta.
Paulk-Buchanan said maintenance crews were clearing drains in the metro area to make sure the standing water disappeared as fast as possible.
Kathy Huggins, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, said a lightning strike caused a fire in the Carrollton area, leading to the evacuation of 10 homes.
"We're not anticipating the kind of rain they had in Tennessee," Huggins said early Monday. More than 13 inches of rain fell in two days in Nashville, flooding The Grand Old Opry and 18 deaths were reported in the state. A total of 26 were killed by storms in Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.
By Monday night, the sun appeared in downtown Atlanta and weather officials reduced the number of counties placed under earlier tornado watch. NWS officials could not confirm any tornado touchdowns until they send teams to Warren and Glascock counties.
Georgia Power spokesman Jeff Wilson said crews were out Monday morning restoring power to about 2,800 customers who lost their electricity during the storm overnight, with about 1,100 of those out in the north metro area. The rest were scattered.
By 4 p.m., the utility reported all but about 200 customers had power restored.