A major flash flood event occurred across portions of the Florida big bend and southern Georgia during the late night hours of April 10th through the early morning hours of April 11th. Between 6 and 10 inches of rain fell with localized higher amounts, particularly over Tallahassee.
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 TAE wrote it up.
A major flash flood event occurred across portions of the Florida big bend and southern Georgia during the late night hours of April 10th through the early morning hours of April 11th. Between 6 and 10 inches of rain fell with localized higher amounts, particularly over Tallahassee. This resulted in rapid water rises across Tallahassee with numerous cars and structures flooded. Several million dollars in flood damage occurred. The Godby High School campus was flooded in Tallahassee, resulting in at least $250K in damage just to that school. Surrounding rural areas of the Florida big bend and southern Georgia also saw numerous flooded roadways. The Lowndes County, GA area including Valdosta saw at least 70 locations with water covering roadways. The primary cause of the event was a slow moving line of thunderstorms that trained repeatedly over the same locations.
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 Tallahassee, FL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 10, 6:51 PM EST, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
751 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
...New AVIATION...
.NEAR TERM...
(Through Thursday)
Issued at 149 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
Near: A large mid-upper trough will continue progressing across the
southeast with an attendant surface low currently situated over
western MS. This low should begin occluding to the northeast through
the remainder of today. Southeasterly flow is persisting and will
continue through the duration of the event advecting deep moisture
across the area. As the low occludes, a cold front will extend into
the CWA and serve as the primary forcing mechanism for storms
beginning this afternoon lasting through tomorrow afternoon. Two
rounds of severe are possible with this setup with the first being
the QLCS propagating toward our area and the second occurring
Thursday morning through the afternoon.
For the first part of this system beginning momentarily, the low-
level jet will continue strengthening as the upper trough amplifies
with 850mb winds reaching 70+kts. This will increase bulk shear
substantially across the area with values reaching 60-70kts out of
the west-southwest. Notably large looping hodographs are evident
across the area with high SRH nearing 400m2s2, perhaps higher
locally if surface winds remain out of the southeast. The main
caveat with this setup is instability with MLCAPE values seemingly
struggling to reach 500J/kg as a result of cooler midlevels. Sine
cloud breaks are evident, indicating that instability could rebound
somewhat ahead of the line. Regardless, a high-shear low-CAPE event
appears likely as low-level streamwiseness of the hodographs (0-3km)
is quite textbook, resulting in a tornado threat for the majority of
the area despite meager buoyancy. A couple strong tornadoes (EF-2+)
are also possible across our SE AL and FL Panhandle counties. A
damaging wind threat is also likely given the strong low-level wind
field with this system.
Storms will then dissipate as a brief lull in the LLJ takes place
before ramping up once again with 850mb winds in excess of 70kts as
the cold front traverses the area early tomorrow morning. Storms
will then reinvigorate along the cold front, perhaps maintaining
semi-discrete features as westerly effective shear in excess of
55kts overspreads the region. It appears that a frontal feature will
be lifting over the FL Panhandle and Big Bend as the MCS to the
north dissipates, resulting in instability increasing with MLCAPE
reaching around 1000-1500J/kg and SRH reaching around 400m2s2. This
is indicative of an increasing tornado threat, some possibly strong
(EF-2+), with a particular emphasis for our westernmost FL Panhandle
counties west of the Apalachicola River. A damaging wind threat and
perhaps some hail is also possible as lapse rates steepen with a
push of cooler air aloft steepening lapse rates.
A failure mode exists with the second round of storms. If the
antecedent convection to the north over our SE AL and SW GA counties
produce stronger outflow than forecast, the air farther south may
stabilize enough inland to inhibit convection substantially.
Regardless, an all-hazards threat exists across all of our counties
this afternoon through tomorrow afternoon, especially for our SE AL
and FL Panhandle counties.
WPC currently has all of our SE AL counties, portions of our SW
GA counties, FL Panhandle counties, and portions of our inland FL
Big Bend counties outlined in a Moderate Risk (3/4) for excessive
rainfall with nearly all of our CWA outlined in a Slight Risk
(2/4) for excessive rainfall, excluding the easternmost FL Big
Bend. More on this below in the Hydrology section.
Overnight lows will drop into the mid to upper 60s with highs
tomorrow in the upper 70s to low 80s.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Thursday night through Friday night)
Issued at 149 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
Cold front and upper low exits eastward Thursday night with
surface high pressure translating from east Texas into southern
Alabama by Friday night. Decreasing clouds are on tap Thursday
night with sunshine plentiful Friday. Highs will be in the
mid/upper 70s Friday and lows in the upper 40s to lower 50s each
morning.
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Saturday through Tuesday)
Issued at 149 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
Surface high pressure slides off the east coast this weekend while
mid level ridging builds across the eastern third of the US in
response to an upper low racing over the desert southwest at the
beginning of the next work week. Mid level flow will remain mostly
from the northwest, despite a mid level trough moving across the
midwest. The strength of the ridge will deflect the trough to the
north leaving fairly tranquil conditions in the extended. High
temperatures will reach for the mid/upper 80s early next week and
lows will bottom into the mid/upper 50s.
&&
.AVIATION...
(00Z TAFS)
Issued at 742 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
Poor flying conds to continue for much of this TAF period thanks
to widespread SHRA/TSRA with embedded heavy rain, gusty winds,
and low cigs/vsbys (IFR-MVFR). Evening radar has the bulk of the
convection affecting ECP/DHN/ABY. Another round of storms is
expected overnight into the morning hrs and looks to pose a
severe threat from west to east ahead of a front. Used the latest
HRRR to help time the onset of +TSRA via tempo groups. Weather
improves tmrw after FROPA, but gusty west winds are expected.
&&
.MARINE...
Issued at 149 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
A line of strong to severe thunderstorms is currently moving along
the southern Alabama Gulf coast into the coastal waters and is
moving eastward around 40 knots and is expected to reach our
coastal waters towards late afternoon west of Mexico Beach.
Strong winds, frequent lightning, and isolated waterspouts are
possible.
Southeast to south winds increase tonight in advance of a
vigorous cold frontal passage on Thursday. Southerlies are likely
to peak as gales tonight and early Thursday, or at least exhibit
frequent gale-force gusts. Following the cold frontal passage on
Thursday, a shift to strong westerlies is expected. Winds will
start to decrease on Thursday night, but it will take until
Saturday or Saturday night for the churned-up Gulf waters to
settle down. High pressure will pass east across the waters on
Saturday night.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 149 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
Storms are expected to exit the area by tomorrow afternoon
leaving a wetting rain behind. Following the passage of a cold
front, transport winds 25-30mph out of the west will overspread the
region tomorrow with mixing heights reaching up to 5000ft. This will
yield high to very high dispersions areawide tomorrow afternoon.
High dispersions areawide are also possible on Friday as elevated
transport winds persist out of the northwest. MinRH will drop to
around 40-60% tomorrow afternoon with 30-50% possible Friday.
Otherwise, there are no fire concerns at this time.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...
Issued at 149 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
Potentially significant flash flood event expected to unfold
across the region this evening and into Thursday. Model guidance
has been fairly consistent in showing a corridor of 4-6 inches of
rain from the Florida Panhandle northeastward into Southwestern
Georgia. Isolated heavier amounts are anticipated to be as high as
8-9 inches in some spots, which if falling urban areas would lead
to considerable flash flooding. While these rainfall amounts are
most likely across the western half of the region, lighter amounts
of 2-4 inches are expected mainly east of the Flint/Ochlockonee
River basins and could still produce localized flash flooding. For
this reason nearly the entire region is under a flood watch.
In addition to the flash flood threat, riverine flooding will occur
in the days ahead. Should the widespread QPF verify, then we'd be
looking at the potential for moderate river flooding on our flashier
river basins like the Pea and Choctawhatchee Rivers in SE Alabama
and the Kinchafoonee Creek in Lee County GA. Depending on where the
rainfall develops further east, we could see minor riverine flooding
in the Ochlockonee, Apalachicola, and Withlacoochee Rivers as well.
For coastal flooding, opted to issue a coastal flood warning from
Wakulla County eastward to Dixie County. The tide around 4 am ET
Thursday morning is not quite aligned with the peak surge, so with
it being a bit offset, water levels may not get quite as high as
possible, but the strong winds behind the squall line will be
sufficient to produce enough surge combined with a higher high tide
around 2 pm ET to produce water levels of 2 to 4 feet above normally
dry ground within the warning area. A coastal flood advisory has
been issued for areas in Franklin County where water levels should
be slightly less.
&&
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
Spotter activation is requested. Spotters should safely report
significant weather conditions and/or damage by calling the
office or tweeting us @NWSTallahassee.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Tallahassee 79 66 80 54 / 30 100 80 0
Panama City 76 66 74 58 / 70 90 20 0
Dothan 79 65 75 51 / 80 100 10 0
Albany 80 66 78 52 / 30 90 60 0
Valdosta 82 68 81 54 / 10 80 90 0
Cross City 82 66 77 55 / 10 30 90 0
Apalachicola 73 67 74 59 / 40 90 60 0
&&
.TAE WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
FL...Flood Watch through Thursday afternoon for FLZ007>019-026>028-
108-112-114-115-118-127-128.
Wind Advisory until 2 PM EDT /1 PM CDT/ Thursday for FLZ011-013-
016>019-026.
Wind Advisory until 11 AM EDT /10 AM CDT/ Thursday for
FLZ007>010-012-014-015-027-114-115-118-127.
Wind Advisory from 2 AM to 2 PM EDT Thursday for FLZ028-029-034-
128-134.
High Rip Current Risk through late Friday night for FLZ108-112-
114-115.
High Surf Advisory until 5 AM EDT /4 AM CDT/ Friday for FLZ108-
112-114.
Wind Advisory until 10 AM CDT Thursday for FLZ108-112.
Coastal Flood Advisory until 8 PM EDT Thursday for FLZ115.
High Surf Advisory from 2 AM to 2 PM EDT Thursday for FLZ115.
Coastal Flood Warning until 8 PM EDT Thursday for FLZ118-127-128-
134.
GA...Flood Watch through Thursday afternoon for GAZ120>131-142>148-
155>161.
Wind Advisory until 2 PM EDT Thursday for GAZ123-125-127>131-
142>148-155>161.
AL...Flood Watch through Thursday afternoon for ALZ065>069.
Wind Advisory until 1 PM CDT Thursday for ALZ068-069.
GM...Gale Warning until 3 PM EDT Thursday for GMZ730-755-765-775.
Gale Warning until 10 AM CDT Thursday for GMZ750-752-770-772.
&&
NEAR TERM...Worster
SHORT TERM...Scholl
LONG TERM....Scholl
AVIATION...IG3
MARINE...Scholl
FIRE WEATHER...Worster
HYDROLOGY...GodseyPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
704 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0653 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 5 NE West Bay 30.35N 85.80W
04/10/2024 M49 MPH Bay FL ASOS
ASOS station KECP Panama City reported a
wind gust of 49 MPH.
&&
KOPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
725 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 NE Dothan 31.23N 85.38W
04/10/2024 Houston AL 911 Call Center
911 Call Center reported a tree down at
Beulah and Webb.
&&
KOPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
748 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 NNW Webb 31.29N 85.29W
04/10/2024 Houston AL 911 Call Center
Corrects previous tstm wnd dmg report from 1
NE Dothan. 911 Call Center and EM reported a
tree down at Bill Yance Rd in Webb across
both lanes.
&&
KOPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
818 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0540 PM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 E Santa Rosa Beach 30.39N 86.17W
04/10/2024 Walton FL Dept of Highways
Florida Highway Patrol live traffic report
indicates power lines are down and the Clyde
B Wells bridge is currently shut down.
&&
KOPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
850 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0840 PM Flash Flood 1 SW Rehobeth 31.12N 85.45W
04/10/2024 Houston AL Emergency Mngr
EM reported two roads with 3-4 inches of
water running across them in Rehobeth, AL in
Houston County.
&&
KOPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
855 PM EDT Wed Apr 10 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0840 PM Flash Flood 1 ESE Gulf Resort Beach 30.21N 85.87W
04/10/2024 Bay FL Emergency Mngr
EM reported water on the road near a
construction site along Front Beach Rd.
&&
KOThe Ft Rucker radar (KEOX), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:43 UTC.
53 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was covering Phillipsburg Road.
Flooding was reported on Hamill Road about 1 mile south of Patmos Milford Highway.
Water was over Highway 91 near Three Notch Road.
Water was covering most of Avenue D.
Roads were flooded in the Albany area.
Flooding was reported at Leslie Highway and Smithville Road.
Flooding was reported across 5th St South and Main St.
There were numerous areas of water covering the road.
Flooding was reported on SR37 in both directions at Sale City Road.
Jack Pierson Road was closed from Harmony Road to County Line Road.
Ballfield Road was flooded and closed.
Store Road was flooded and closed.
Turnip Road was flooded and closed at Highway 112.
Rumble Road between Forty Niner Road and Strawberry Road was flooded and closed.
Old Store Road between Highway 97 and Highway 311 was flooded and closed.
Red Hill Road was closed from Roswell Road to Tea Olive Road.
Lakeview Road was flooded and closed.
Locast Road at the dump was flooded and closed.
Sassafras Tea Road was flooded and closed.
Research Road was flooded and closed. The paved road collapsed.
MLK Jr Road at the gator farm was flooded and closed.
Blue Bird Road was flooded and closed.
River Road was closed from Pinecliff Road to Highway 311.
The bridge on Cherry Road was closed due to flooding.
Slough Road was flooded and closed.
Flooding was reported on SR93 in both directions at Tomato Road.
Water covered Live Oak Road.
Flooding was reported on SR37 in both directions at SR3 with all lanes closed.
Flooding was reported at SR133 in both directions at Carlton Road with all lanes closed.
Twelve Mile Post Road going west between Highway 19 and the Florida state line had water over the road.
The dirt section of Lower Boston Road between Boston Monticello and Parramore Fish Pond was closed due to flooding.
Reichertville Road between Twelve Mile Post and Boston Monticello washed away.
Summerhill Road between the 4500 block of Summerhill and McKinnon at the Aucilla River Bridge had water over the road.
Whitney Camp between Martin and Mitchell had a cross drain pipe wash out with water over the road.
Hansel Road between Pine Forest Road and Gibbs Road was closed.
Highway 19 and New Hope Road had all lanes flooded.
Flooding was reported at SR122 and Boys Ranch Road with all lanes closed.
Flooding was reported on SR7 in both directions before Oakridge Church Road with all lanes closed.
There were numerous impassable roads all over Valdosta due to flooding. At least 70 areas were flooded.
The road was partially washed out near Carter Way and Old Quitman Highway.
Flooding was reported at Highway 38 and Devane Road with all lanes closed.
Glory Road was flooded and washed out.
Several dirt roads were washed out in the Alapaha area.
Highway 84 E at Devane Road was closed with both lanes underwater.
Trees were blown down across New Statenville Highway near Allison Road.
Trees were blown down near Dogwood Dr.
Flooding occurred along W Washington Street in Nashville with one house rescue needed.
Flooding was reported on Highway 135 in both directions at Highway 64 with all lanes closed.
Water covered portions of Rowell Road and Deerwood via a picture on social media.
Water covered portions of Sermans Road.
Water was running across Peggy Lane.
Water was running across the road on State Highway 333 near Redwood Lane.
Water was crossing the road at Highway 333 and 20.
Flooding was reported across all lanes on SR135 at SR168.
Flooding was reported on SR333 in both directions at Jackson Road with all lanes closed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Georgia in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Georgia, April 2024
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: 1172436, 1172437, 1172438, 1172440, 1172441, 1172448, 1172450, 1172439, 1172453, 1172454, 1172455, 1172456, 1172457, 1172458, 1172459, 1172460, 1172461, 1172462, 1172463, 1172464, 1172465, 1172466, 1172467, 1172468, 1172469, 1172470, 1172482, 1172471, 1172495, 1172484, 1172486, 1172487, 1172489, 1172490, 1172496, 1172491, 1172515, 1172503, 1172518, 1172519, and more.