Flash Flood — Crisp, Georgia

2020-03-04 · near Cordele Arpt, Crisp, Georgia

Event narrative

The Emergency Manager reported a 5-acre farm pond was overwhelmed by runoff from heavy rainfall, causing the failure of the dam. Radar estimates indicate that 5 to 6 inches occurred over the area, falling on already saturated soils, resulting in flash flooding in the county.

Wider weather episode

During the day on March 4, enhanced moisture over the state produced a swath of heavy rainfall over portions of south and central Georgia. An area of 3 to 6 inches of rain fell over an area stretching from Stewart County eastward to Toombs County. Isolated higher amounts of up to 8 inches, particularly over Stewart County. This heavy rainfall fell on already wet soils, exacerbating the impact. Numerous road closures occurred as a result of the flash flooding, and there was at least one report of a dam failure and a significant road washout. Additional reports of longer duration flooding carried into the early morning hours of March 5.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (31.9926, -83.7552)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 883163. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.