Flood warning issued for Cobb, Alpharetta

By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Cobb County creek is at its flood stage and an Alpharetta waterway is almost there, the National Weather Service said.

Residents in Cobb, North Fulton and Forsyth Counties should be prepared for possible flooding tonight.

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Tuesday evening for Allatoona Creek near Mars Hill Road in Cobb County. As of 5 p.m., the creek had reached its flood stage at 13 feet, meterologist Jessica Fieux said.

Earlier Tuesday, the Weather Service issued a flood warning for Big Creek in Alpharetta.

"We're on the lookout for minor flooding tonight and it should continue to rise near 9.6 feet early Thursday," meteorologist Brian Lynn said.

The flood stage for Big Creek is 7 feet, according to the Weather Service.

The Weather Service recorded 2.23 inches of rain at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport from 7 p.m. Monday to 4 p.m. Tuesday. About 1.85 inches of rain fell at the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport during the same time period.

The rain, brought by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida, is expected to continue Tuesday night and will begin to diminish Wednesday, forecasters said.

The Weather Service said there is no need for residents to evacuate, but warned homeowners to keep an eye on their basements and back yards.

A flash flood watch remains in effect for north and central Georgia, including Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Cherokee, Forsyth and Henry counties. The watch remains in effect through Wednesday morning.

Heavy rain also caused problems on metro area roadways Tuesday afternoon.

The Georgia Department of Transportation urged drivers to be on the lookout for standing water and low visibility.

Police responded to several wrecks on the interstates in metro Atlanta, along with an overturned tractor trailer that forced all lanes on I-75 closed in Bartow County Tuesday afternoon.