An active weather pattern, combined with excessive atmospheric moisture, produced numerous showers and thunderstorms October 4th and early October 5th. Heavy rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches were common over central Georgia, with higher amounts up to 10 inches in and around Columbus and West Point in west central Georgia.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS FFC wrote it up.
An active weather pattern, combined with excessive atmospheric moisture, produced numerous showers and thunderstorms October 4th and early October 5th. Heavy rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches were common over central Georgia, with higher amounts up to 10 inches in and around Columbus and West Point in west central Georgia. Isolated flash flooding was also reported around Gainesville, resulting from 2.5 to 4 inches of rainfall.
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 Oct 4, 10:25 AM EST, 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 1125 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021 ...Late Morning Update, Flash Flood Watch Issued... A Flash Flood Watch has been issued for north GA and portions of central GA, and will be in effect starting at 06z tonight. Light to moderate rain with pockets of heavy rain currently extends from the northeastern CWA down through eastern metro Atlanta to Columbus. Localized swaths of 1.5" to 2.0" of rainfall have occurred with the rain this morning, and scattered to numerous showers with embedded thunderstorms will continue through the day. Training showers and storms could lead to localized flash flooding. Martin && PREV DISCUSSION... /Issued 454 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021/ SHORT TERM /Today through Tuesday/... This morning water vapor imagery continues to show a moist air mass across the entire CWA. Dew points are in the upper 60s, precipitable water values are between 1 and 2 inches, skies are overcast and weak precipitation is entering the FA from the west. Expect the weather to remain active today as the longwave trough currently over the area begins to orient itself from the SW to NE ahead of a closed low developing across the Mississippi Valley. During the early portions of the day weaknesses in the longwave trough will help kick off periods of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Hi-res models suggest storms will first develop north of the Fall Line and then increase in coverage this afternoon as the aforementioned closed low becomes well established over the region. Thus, the NBM suggested chance to low end likely PoPs have been accepted. While isolated heavy rainfall is expected today we are not expecting widespread significant flooding issues. Due to the nature of the todays convection today will be more of the "primer" day that saturates any "dry spots". Surface instability around 1000 J/kg will be present north of the Fall Line this afternoon therefore have included a slight mention of thunder from about 18z to 00Z. Outside of the precipitation temperatures will be cooler than yesterday with light SW winds. Tonight into tomorrow with the closed low to our west and subtropical ridging to our east persistent moisture influx will occur over GA. As this occurs areas of enhanced vorticity advection will make their way across the area. This combination will increase PWs and increase rain shower and thunderstorm intensity and coverage. By tomorrow afternoon with persistent rainfall having been over the area for several days flooding will become a greater threat. QPF storm totals continue to paint a picture of 2 to 3 inches of rain generally across central GA through tomorrow. For now the hydrologic outlook covers the anticipated impacts of the upcoming weather well however, a flash flood watch will likely be needed for the 06z Tuesday to 06z Thursday timeframe as QPF totals quickly ramp up during this time. 28 LONG TERM /Tuesday Night through Sunday/... Still not looking at any fundamental changes to the extended forecast trends. Period starts out wet with the region under the southwesterly flow ahead of a deep closed upper low over the middle/lower Mississippi Valley. Ample moisture and lift persist across the region through the end of the workweek in this regime. Instability and shear appear to remain low with threat of severe storms minimal. Rainfall totals by the latter half of the week may start to cause some flooding issues. Upper low fills and lifts northeast as we head into the weekend and early next week with decreasing rain chances. 20 AVIATION...12Z Update... Along with SHRA today will start with MVFR/IFR CIGS possible between 11-14z along with low VISBYs. CIGS will improve during the morning, but increased chances for SHRA/TSRA return after 18Z. Have gone VCSH/SHRA/VCSH for prevailing at all sites to indicate this increase in activity. Instabilities warrant need for TSRA in the forecast. Thus, have included at TEMPO for TSRA at the metro ATL sites 18Z-22Z. Winds will be from the S/SW at 3-6 kts for much of the period before swinging to the SE tomorrow around 06Z. //ATL Confidence...12Z Update... Medium confidence on all elements. 28 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Athens 79 65 74 66 / 60 80 90 80 Atlanta 78 65 72 66 / 70 80 100 80 Blairsville 74 60 68 61 / 50 70 100 80 Cartersville 78 65 72 65 / 50 70 100 80 Columbus 79 67 75 67 / 70 80 90 70 Gainesville 76 64 70 65 / 50 80 100 80 Macon 82 66 78 67 / 50 70 90 70 Rome 79 65 73 66 / 40 70 90 80 Peachtree City 78 65 73 64 / 80 80 100 80 Vidalia 86 69 83 70 / 50 50 70 50 && .FFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...Martin LONG TERM....20 AVIATION...Martin
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Peachtree City GA 1000 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021 GAZ001>009-011>016-019>025-027-030>039-041>062-066>076-078>086- 089>098-102>113-051400- Baldwin-Banks-Barrow-Bartow-Bibb-Bleckley-Butts-Carroll-Catoosa- Chattahoochee-Chattooga-Cherokee-Clarke-Clayton-Cobb-Coweta- Crawford-Crisp-Dade-Dawson-DeKalb-Dodge-Dooly-Douglas-Emanuel- Fannin-Fayette-Floyd-Forsyth-Gilmer-Glascock-Gordon-Greene- Gwinnett-Hall-Hancock-Haralson-Harris-Heard-Henry-Houston-Jackson- Jasper-Jefferson-Johnson-Jones-Lamar-Laurens-Lumpkin-Macon- Madison-Marion-Meriwether-Monroe-Montgomery-Morgan-Murray- Muscogee-Newton-North Fulton-Oconee-Oglethorpe-Paulding-Peach- Pickens-Pike-Polk-Pulaski-Putnam-Rockdale-Schley-South Fulton- Spalding-Stewart-Sumter-Talbot-Taliaferro-Taylor-Telfair-Toombs- Towns-Treutlen-Troup-Twiggs-Union-Upson-Walker-Walton-Warren- Washington-Webster-Wheeler-White-Whitfield-Wilcox-Wilkes- Wilkinson- 1000 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North and Central Georgia. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight... Scattered to numerous showers and isolated thunderstorms are expected today and tonight. Locally heavy rain and occasional lightning will be the primary threats. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday... Scattered to widespread thunderstorms can be expected across north and central Georgia through Thursday. The main concern will be heavy rain and the increased risk of flooding or localized flash flooding, as rainfall totals will reach 2 to 5 inches over much of the area by Thursday. Creeks and smaller streams could respond quickly to locally heavy rain, and larger rivers may swell to bankfull or higher by the latter half of the week. Outside of the heavy rain, a few stronger storms could also produce gusty winds and frequent lightning. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed through tonight.
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
1101 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021
GAZ069-078>080-089-041545-
Harris GA-Taylor GA-Upson GA-Talbot GA-Muscogee GA-
1101 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021
...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of Muscogee,
southeastern Upson, Talbot, northern Taylor and southern Harris
Counties through 1145 AM EDT...
At 1100 AM EDT, a line of strong thunderstorms was along a line
extending from near Fickling Mill to Green Island Hills, and moving
east at 10 mph.
HAZARD...Heavy rain.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Heavy rain may cause temporary street flooding especially
in poor drainage areas.
Locations impacted include...
Columbus, Butler, Hamilton, Talbotton, Waverly Hall, Woodland,
Junction City, Geneva, North Fort Benning, Bibb City, Upatoi, Green
Island Hills, Juniper, Cataula, Columbus Metropolitan Airport,
Howard, Logtown, Mountain Hill, Benning Hills and Benning Park.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Motorists should slow down and be prepared for possible loss of
control due to hydroplaning.
&&
LAT...LON 3286 8418 3279 8415 3269 8420 3268 8413
3268 8411 3257 8406 3256 8449 3255 8455
3252 8459 3253 8465 3251 8472 3246 8475
3237 8497 3238 8499 3239 8497 3243 8496
3245 8500 3252 8500 3259 8508 3271 8512
TIME...MOT...LOC 1500Z 255DEG 8KT 3268 8410 3255 8501
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPHSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Peachtree City GA
1146 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021
GAZ078-079-089-090-041630-
Chattahoochee GA-Harris GA-Talbot GA-Muscogee GA-
1146 AM EDT Mon Oct 4 2021
...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of northern Muscogee,
southwestern Talbot and southern Harris Counties through 1230 PM
EDT...
At 1146 AM EDT, a line of strong thunderstorms was along a line
extending from near Baughville to near Smiths. These storms were
nearly stationary.
HAZARD...Heavy rain.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Heavy rain may cause temporary street flooding especially
in poor drainage areas.
Locations impacted include...
Waverly Hall, Bibb City, Upatoi, Goat Rock Lake, Ellerslie, Flat
Rock, Laurel Hills, Green Island Hills, Cataula, Columbus
Metropolitan Airport, Baughville, Olive Branch, Box Springs, Midland,
Kenwood, Mountain Hill, Fortson, Mulberry Grove and Lake Harding.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Motorists should slow down and be prepared for possible loss of
control due to hydroplaning.
&&
LAT...LON 3272 8490 3270 8456 3253 8460 3253 8463
3251 8464 3249 8500 3252 8501 3259 8508
3262 8509 3263 8508 3264 8510 3265 8510
3266 8509 3269 8511
TIME...MOT...LOC 1546Z 046DEG 0KT 3261 8471 3256 8504
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...<30 MPHThe Maxwell AFB radar (KMXX), 74 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:14 UTC.
8 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Emergency Manager reported that River Road near Green Island Hills was closed due to flooding. Radar estimates indicate that between 3 and 5 inches of rain occurred over the area at the time of the report, with a total of 6 to 10 inches estimated for the day.
The Emergency Manager reported flooding of I-185 at Williams Road. Radar estimates indicate that between 3 and 5 inches of rain occurred over the area at the time of the report, with a total of 6 to 10 inches estimated for the day.
Broadcast Media reported floodwaters from Bull Creek was surrounding numerous apartments homes with a few inches of water. Radar estimates indicate that between 3 and 5 inches of rain occurred over the area at the time of the report, with a total of 6 to 10 inches estimated for the day.
The Emergency Manager and local Broadcast Media reported floodwaters from Weracoba Creek had inundated Lakebottom Park. Radar estimates indicate that a daily-total of 6 to 10 inches accumulated in the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
Broadcast Media reported approximately one foot of water flowing over Cusseta Road near Brown Avenue, associated with high flow from Weracoba Creek. Radar estimates indicate that a daily-total of 6 to 10 inches accumulated in the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
The Emergency Manager reported flooding at several locations in Gainesville, including but not limited to Chestatee Road at Pearl Nix Parkway, 1300 block of Cumberland Drive, 1700 block of MLK Boulevard, Wessell Road at Dixon Drive, High Street at Pine Street, and Race Street between Jesse Jewell Parkway and College Avenue. Radar estimates indicate that a 2.5 to 3 inches accumulated in the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
The Emergency Manager relayed a report of flood waters over Gay Road from Blackwell Creek. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 4.5 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
The Emergency Manager reported Shepherd Road closed due to flooding from Sheppard Creek. Radar estimates indicate that 3 to 4.5 inches of rain occurred over the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, October 2021
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: 989836, 989837, 989839, 989841, 989842, 989844, 989861, 989862.