Flash Flood and Flood in Georgia, May 4, 2002

Name: Flash Flood and Flood in Georgia, May 4, 2002
Start: 2002-05-04T09:30
End: 2002-05-04T18:30
Location: Georgia

May 4, 2002 · NWS FFC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

1 flash flood, 1 flood, 1 hail, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Atlanta, GA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 4, 5:30 AM EST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 4, 5:30 AM EST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED TO ADD AVIATION DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
630 AM EDT SAT MAY 4 2002

230 AM EDT SAT MAY 4 2002...PUBLIC FORECAST DISCUSSION
STATIONARY FRONT ACROSS CENTRAL TO S GA THIS MORNING. SURFACE LOW
OVER MS/AL MOVES TO N GA TODAY WEAKENING AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE
STATE WHILE LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPS ALONG THE COAST. MID LEVEL SHORT
WAVES HELPING TO SUPPORT SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TODAY.
MUCH OF THE PCPN WILL END LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING. POTENTIAL
FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AGAIN TODAY. CLEARING EXPECTED OVERNIGHT
AND EARLY SUNDAY.

ATL  75 56 80 60 /  80 10 00 00
AHN  72 54 80 57 /  80 10 00 00
GVL  68 55 76 58 /  99 10 00 00
RMG  73 54 83 56 /  99 10 00 00
CSG  84 61 84 61 /  50 30 00 00
MCN  84 59 84 58 /  50 30 00 00

.ATL...
GA...NONE.

BDL

AVIATION DISCUSSION...
VARYING CEILINGS AS AREA OF TRW MOVES THROUGH EARLY THIS MORNING.
COULD SEE A BREAK FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS...BUT ANOTHER AREA ACROSS
ALABAMA COULD MOVE IN AROUND MID MORNING. EVEN MORE COULD DEVELOP
WITH HEAT OF THE AFTERNOON. MESOETA CONSISTENT IN SHOWING WINDS
GOING SW BY AROUND 15Z AND CONTINUING WITH A WESTERLY COMPONENT
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THIS SHOULD KEEP CEILINGS AROUND 030SCT-BKN
WITH MUCH IMPROVED CONDITIONS BY TONIGHT.

JRN

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 4, 5:21 AM EST, 4 hours 9 minutes before

GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086-
089>098-102>113-041315-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL GEORGIA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PEACHTREE CITY GA
621 AM EDT SAT MAY 4 2002

...ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT...

.SYNOPSIS...
A FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS MIDDLE GEORGIA WILL REMAIN NEARLY
STATIONARY.

.PRIMARY HAZARD...
THE PRIMARY HAZARD WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS.

.DISCUSSION...
ISOLATED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED ACROSS MOST OF NORTH AND
CENTRAL GEORGIA...MAINLY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WHILE SOME
THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING...THEY HAVE
ONLY A SMALL LIKELIHOOD OF BECOMING SEVERE. AS TEMPERATURES RISE
THIS AFTERNOON CAPES SHOULD INCREASE TO AROUND 1500 TO 2000. ALONG
WITH MID LEVEL COOLING AND STRONG MID LEVEL FLOW...THUNDERSTORMS
WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS COULD DEVELOP. THE BEST TIME FOR
THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE BETWEEN 3 PM AND 8 PM. WHILE THE GREATEST
THREAT WILL BE NEAR THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ACROSS MIDDLE GEORGIA...
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CANT BE RULED OUT ACROSS NORTH GEORGIA.

.FOR SPOTTERS...
SPOTTER GROUPS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL SHOULD MONITOR
WEATHER CONDITIONS...AND BE READY FOR POSSIBLE ACTIVATION THIS AFTERNOON.

&&
FOR THE GRAPHICAL HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK AND OTHER WEATHER
INFORMATION...PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/FFC.

The radar

The Atlanta radar (KFFC), 48 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood, 1 flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Fulton

When: May 4, 9:30 AM EST to 1:00 PM EST
Where: Fulton County, 3 mi N of Atlanta
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 33.790, -84.467 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Fulton county Emergency Manager reported that minor flooding of Peachtree Creek occurred as heavy rain fell within a period of three to four hours. Woodward Street was rendered impassable for several hours with over 18 inches of water flowing over it. Flooding was also reported on Hanover West Drive, where water flooded the yards of several homes in low lying areas near the creek. The Cross Creek Golf Course was flooded as well. Nevertheless, no homes or businesses were flooded and thus no monetary value was assessed because of the flooding.

Flood, Upson

When: May 4, 5:49 PM EST
Where: Upson County, Thomaston
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 32.881, -84.299 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The public reported street flooding. One reported indicated that 0.90 inch of rain fell in 20 minutes.

Hail, Twiggs

When: May 4, 6:30 PM EST
Where: Twiggs County, Dry Branch
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 32.750, -83.633

The Twiggs county 911 center reported quarter size hail.

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.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Georgia in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Georgia, May 2002

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: 5297085, 5297086, 5297087.