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Heavy rainfall expected Thursday puts Chattanooga area under flood watch

Carl Keiefer helps wife, Stephanie, as they cross over a shallow streams along the Glen Falls Trail on Lookout Mountian on Monday, December 23, 2019. Stephanie Kiefer is holding the youngest daughter, Cora. Creeks and streams were on the rise there and across the South. Flash flood watches and warnings covered parts of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina. / Staff Photo by Robin Rudd Carl Keiefer helps wife, Stephanie, as they cross over a shallow streams along the Glen Falls Trail on Lookout Mountian on Monday, December 23, 2019. Stephanie Kiefer is holding the youngest daughter, Cora. Creeks and streams were on the rise there and across the South. Flash flood watches and warnings covered parts of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and South Carolina. / Staff Photo by Robin Rudd

By Staff Reports January 1, 2020 2 min read

The mild, warm weather Chattanooga area families enjoyed for Christmas will give way to some heavy rain Thursday that will put most of the area under a flood watch.

“It looks like 2-4 inches of rain will fall causing some flooding on creeks and streams throughout much of our area, starting Thursday and ending on Saturday,” said WRCB-TV Channel 3 Meteorologist Paul Barys.

The flood watch will affect most areas except for the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, extreme East Tennessee and North Georgia, he said.

The National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, reported that the strong storm system’s rain, coupled with previous precipitation, is likely to “cause ponding on area roadways,” and “small rivers and streams could overflow their banks.”