Tropical Storm Ida Brings Heavy Rains To Georgia, Flash Flood Watches For Most Of State

Atlanta, GA (AHN) – Tropical Storm Ida has begun a deluge of heavy rains and is pushing bad weather through Georgia today. According to the National Weather Service rain is falling over most of north and central Georgia, prompting flash flood warnings.

Weather experts are trying to ascertain the direction fo the storm over the next few days and where the remnants of what was the third hurricane of the 2009 season will end up. At 9 a.m. two hours after it made landfall in Dauphin Island, Alabama wind speeds dropped to 35 mph with wind speeds likely to diminish over the next day or so.

The storm then traveled upward and over portions of the Florida panhandle with Georgia now bearing the brunt of the storm’s system. Forecasters issued the flash flood watch in both the north parts of the state as well as portions of central Georgia. The National Weather Service issued the watch from north of Columbus over to Macon to the Warrenton line, then as far north as the state’s northern border.

Weather experts are predicting heavy rains of 3-5 inches for most of the state, however some areas may see more. Early afternoon reports estimate that so far 1-2 inches have already fallen in most of the state. However rainfall amounts of up to 2.5 to 3 inches have been recorded in the Columbus-area.

The heavy rains have forced the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to halt releasing water downstream from Lake Lanier since the weather system is moving south to north.

Forecasters say Ida will probably bring rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with maximum storm totals of 8 inches through Wednesday evening from the central and eastern Gulf Coast across the southeastern United States and into the southern mid-Atlantic states. Ida will also bring dangerous tides to coastal areas in its path.

The storm is likely to have already caused one death already on American soil. Published reports say a 70-year-old man in Louisiana may have drowned trying to assist two fisherman whose boat broke down in the Mississippi River.