Today marks the conclusion of Severe Weather Preparedness Week across the state of Georgia. The focus for this final day is Flash Flooding/Flood Safety. Northwest Georgia has definitely seen its share of high waters in recent days. The National Weather Service has reported just under four inches of rain out at Rome’s Russell Regional Airport from Tuesday evening through Thursday evening; the most significant rainfall occurred from Wednesday night through Thursday evening.
Flash flooding led to road closures and high alerts on Thursday. Some areas around the southeastern US sustained storm damage.
Tim Herrington, the Director of the Floyd County Emergency Management Agency, anticipates that many will be grateful for all this rainfall by the time that Spring and Summer arrive. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that this area was in the midst of a drought.
Flooding is anticipated to recede as we head into the weekend. This will be accompanied by cooler temperatures over the next couple of days. A Flood Warning does remain in effect until Saturday morning for a number of local waterways.
If you happen to encounter a flooded location, remember – turn around, don’t drown.
The observance of Severe Weather Preparedness Week is spearheaded every year by the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and the National Weather Service. Severe weather preparedness tips may be obtained online at www.ready.gov or www.romefloyd.com. Herrington urges locals to download the Floyd EMA mobile app for useful information related to severe weather; the app is available free of charge from Apple’s App Store and Google Play.