WTGA - WATERTODAY GEORGIA

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September 18, 2024

WT INTERNATIONAL

12/26/2023

WT Staff

Floods and Flows

as of December 26, 2023

Active Flooding or above 99th percentile

5 USGS streamflow gages reading above flood stage

Big Creek is flooding at GA 9 near Cumming - running 6.8 ft deep at 968 cfs and rising - minor flood stage 6 ft
Big Creek is flooding near Alpharetta - running 7.39 ft deep at 915 cfs and rising - minor flood stage 7 ft
St Marys River is flooding at Folkston - running 10.72 ft deep - minor flood stage 7 ft was breached Dec 17
St Marys River flooding near MacClenny FL - running 13.41 ft deep at 3110 cfs - flood stage 12 ft breached Dec 17
Satilla River is flooding at Atkinson - running 14.09 ft at 7380 cfs and rising - minor flood stage 13 ft

99th percentile flows or action stage for flooding
7 streamflow gauges recording at or above 99th percentile -

Tallulah River is flowing high near Clayton - running 4.45 ft deep at 1110 cubic feet per second - flood stage 20 ft
Chattooga River is flowing high near Clayton - running 3.78 ft deep at 3180 cubic feet per second - flood stage 15 ft
Chestatee River is flowing high near Dahlonega - running 7.87 ft deep at 3710 cubic feet per second - flood stage 19 ft
Chattahoochee River is flowing high at Helen - running 2.55 ft deep at 774 cubic feet per second - flood stage 6 ft
Chattahoochee River is flowing high near Leaf - running 6.27 ft deep at 3730 cubic feet per second - flood stage unreported
Yellow River is flowing high near Snellville - running 10.97 ft deep at 1920 cubic feet per second - flood stage 20 ft
Suwanee Creek is flowing high at Suwanee - running 7.16 ft deep at 12600 cubic feet per second - flood stage 8 ft

Drought Map and Low flow from the USGS WaterWatch seven-day average streamflow compared with historic streamflow

0 stations rated low

Severe hydrological drought rated area includes:

Coosa River watershed Whitfield, Murray Counties
Tallapoosa River watershed Haralson and Carroll Counties
Upper Flint River watershed from south Fulton, Clayton, Fayette, Spalding, Pike, Lamar, Upson, Taylor, Talbot, Crawford Counties

Moderate hydrological drought rated area includes:

Upper Savannah River watershed from Rabun to North Hart County
Coosa River watershed west half of Chattooga, Floyd, Polk Counties; east Gordon, Pickens and Gilmer Counties
Chattahoochee River watershed from south Fulton to northwest Muscogee County
Flint River watershed Schley, Marion, Sumter, Lee Counties

Below normal:

Coosa River watershed Whitfield, Murray, Chattooga, Floyd, Polk, Bartow, Cherokee, Pickens and Dawson Counties
Tennessee River west watershed including Dade, Walker, Catoosa Counties
Tennessee River east watershed including parts of Fannin, Union and Towns Counties
Upper Savannah River watershed including Elbert, Wilkes and Lincoln, Franklin, Banks, Madison and Oglethorpe
Upper Chattahoochee River watershed from headwaters in Union County to South Fulton County
Lower Chattahoochee River watershed from Muscogee to Seminole County
Flint River watershed from Taylor to Worth County
Upper Ocmulgee River watershed from Dekalb to Bibb County
Upper Oconee River watershed

As sourced from USGS Waterwatch Current Streamflow

FLOOD SAFETY

What is the difference between a Flood Watch and a Flood Warning issued by the National Weather Service?

Flash Flood Warning: Take Action! A Flash Flood Warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood prone area move immediately to high ground. A flash flood is a sudden violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop. It is even possible to experience a flash flood in areas not immediately receiving rain.
Flood Warning: Take Action!
A Flood Warning is issued when the hazardous weather event is imminent or already happening. A Flood Warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.
Flood Advisory: Be Aware:
A Flood Advisory is issued when a specific weather event that is forecast to occur may become a nuisance.

A Flood Advisory is issued when flooding is not expected to be bad enough to issue a warning. However, it may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.
Flood Watch: Be Prepared:
A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for a specific hazardous weather event to occur.

A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

Be prepared, stay safe through flood events

March 13, 2023

Did you know,

6 inches of moving water can knock an adult down

And 12 inches of flowing water can carry a car away!

(From ready.gov)

Stay safe during flood events, watch for flood alerts in your area, here in BLACK.

Avoid driving into flooded areas, and take caution trying to drive out of a flood zone.

Avoid using bridges over high flowing rivers.

If possible, move to higher ground, get uphill, or move to a higher floor in your building or home,

leaving yourself an exit to the roof if necessary. Do not become trapped in an attic!

Keep dry food, bottled water, flashlight and extra batteries, cell phone charger packed in go bags for all of your household and pets.

Have flotation devices accessible for every member of your household in case you need to evacuate on foot.

If you must drive to get out of a flood zone,

have a high-quality window breaking/seatbelt cutting device in your vehicle, secured to your rearview mirror for fast retrieval.

You may not be able to reach your car’s glove box in an emergency situation.

The contents of seat and door storage compartments and center console may become displaced in an emergency,

causing you to lose track of items that are not secured.

Even if your vehicle has rolled or tipped over, as long as you are still belted in, you should be able to reach the rear-view mirror to retrieve your emergency tool.

Keep your seatbelt on until the vehicle has made impact with the water body. It will often float on the surface for a short time.

There is time to get out through an open side window. Act calmly, deliberately and quickly, without hesitation.

Use your tool to cut your seatbelt if the buckle will not release in the normal way.

Use your window breaking device toward a corner of your side window to break the safety glass.

Attempting to break the window at the center may not work.

Windshields and rear windows are reinforced and will not break as easily as the side windows.

If your vehicle is in any danger of becoming submerged, you need to get out before it goes underwater.

Submerged vehicles may roll over or invert underwater, disorienting you and others inside.

Get familiar with your local streams and rivers, know your normal flow levels and check the USGS Waterwatch Current Streamflow for the real time flow volume and depth.

Find the monitoring sites upstream and downstream nearest your home and sign up for high flow alerts.

https://waterwatch.usgs.gov/

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