Flash Flood, Chatham
- When
- July 5, 2:45 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Chatham County, Savannah
- Injuries
- 2 direct, 0 indirect
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Coordinates
- 31.974, -81.092 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in Georgia, July 5, 1996
Eight to ten (8-10) inches of rain fell in 3-4 hours in and around Savannah. As a result, 50 streets and 100 homes were flooded to various degrees.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 2
- Property damage
- $1.0 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS CHS wrote it up.
Eight to ten (8-10) inches of rain fell in 3-4 hours in and around Savannah. As a result, 50 streets and 100 homes were flooded to various degrees. Numerous businesses had water several inches deep.There were 31,000 residents without power for several hours. This event also occurred close to high tide. Some streets had water up to headlights on cars while some homes had water almost knee deep.Several car dealerships had significant damage to some cars. Two elderly men barely escaped with their lives when their car stalled.By the time they were rescued, water was within six (6) inches of filling the inside of the car.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flash Flood
- Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heat in Texas, July 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Arizona, July 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in South Dakota, July 5, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Kansas, July 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Dakota, July 5, 1996
- Flood in Missouri, July 5 to 7, 1996
- Hail in Oklahoma, July 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, July 5, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Oklahoma, July 5, 1996
- Hail in Missouri, July 5, 1996
- Flood in Maine, July 5 to 6, 1996
- Hail in South Carolina, July 5, 1996
More
Every storm in Georgia in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, July 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5552043.