Flash Flood — Wilcox, Georgia

2020-03-04 to 2020-03-05 · near Pitts, Wilcox, Georgia

Event narrative

Social Media initially reported a washout of SR-112 between Rebecca and Rochelle. News media and the Emergency Manager provided additional details later that a 250 foot stretch of SR-112 was washed out due to high flow through Mill Creek. Water covered the roadway by 1030 PM, and the road failed at approximately 230 AM on March 5. Repairs took more than two months. Radar estimates indicate that 5 to 6 inches of rain occurred in the area, falling on already wet soils, causing the flash flooding.

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 → (31.9007, -83.5098)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 883353. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.