Georgia, 1998

Flooding in Georgia, February 4 to 8, 1998

February 4 to 8, 1998 · NWS FFC · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

S. into the Gulf of Mexico.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 22 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$400,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
22

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 FFC wrote it up.

Another in a series of "El Nino" influenced storm systems moved from the southwest U.S. into the Gulf of Mexico. The low pressure center tracked across southeast Georgia, then northeastward along the Atlantic seaboard. Rainfall amounts ranged from 2.5 to 4.5 inches over north and central Georgia from the 2nd to the 4th. With the ground nearly saturated from previous similar events, runoff caused widespread flooding over much of central Georgia, especially along and near the Oconee and Ocmulgee river basins. Some floodgates were opened at Lake Sinclair, which also contributed to the flooding. Rivers and creeks rose as much as 20 feet during the event, flooding homes and businesses near them. In Laurens county 11 school children had to be evacuated from a school bus that had stalled in standing water. No one was injured, but the bus floated away down the Oconee River. The river stage at Dublin rose to its highest level in 32 years, cresting at 30.5 feet.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

22 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Putnam

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Putnam forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
33.322, -83.373 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Baldwin

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Baldwin forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
33.069, -83.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Washington

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Washington forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.970, -82.796 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Bibb

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Bibb forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.807, -83.698 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Twiggs

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Twiggs forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.667, -83.427 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Wilkinson

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Wilkinson forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.802, -83.171 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Johnson

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.702, -82.660 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Houston

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Houston forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.459, -83.666 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Bleckley

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Bleckley forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.434, -83.328 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Laurens

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Laurens forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.464, -82.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Pulaski

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Pulaski forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.232, -83.476 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Dodge

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.172, -83.168 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Wheeler

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Wheeler forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.117, -82.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Dooly

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Dooly forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.157, -83.799 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Crisp

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Crisp forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
31.923, -83.768 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Wilcox

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Wilcox forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
31.973, -83.432 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Telfair

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Telfair forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
31.930, -82.939 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Upson

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Upson forecast zone
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
32.881, -84.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Crawford

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Crawford forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
32.715, -83.986 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Peach

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Peach forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
32.569, -83.827 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Montgomery

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
32.173, -82.535 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Treutlen

When
February 4, 12:00 AM EST to February 8, 12:00 AM EST
Where
Treutlen forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Coordinates
32.404, -82.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Georgia in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, February 1998

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: 5627193, 5627194, 5627195, 5627196, 5627197, 5627198, 5627199, 5627200, 5627201, 5627202, 5627203, 5627204, 5627205, 5627206, 5627207, 5627208, 5627209, 5627210, 5627211, 5627212, 5627213, 5627214.