Heavy rainfall expected Thursday puts Chattanooga area under flood watch

January 1, 2020 at 4:43 p.m. | Updated January 2, 2020 at 3:08 p.m.

by Staff Reports

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

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."

(Read more: Rainfall in the Tennessee Valley last year is second highest after record 2018 level)

FIVE-DAY FORECAST

ThursdayHigh: 53Low: 48Partly cloudy, showersFridayHigh: 62Low: 42ShowersSaturdayHigh: 47Low: 33Partly cloudy, chance of showersSundayHigh: 51Low: 35Sunny, mostly clearMondayHigh: 54Low: 35Sunny, 20% chance of rainSource: WRCB-TV Channel 3

High winds will be possible in the mountains and foothills of East Tennessee, the National Weather Service added.

"Highs on Thursday will be near 50 and lows will be in the upper 40s Thursday night," Barys said. "It should be warmer on Friday with highs near 60."

He added that Saturday will "be a topsy-turvy day," starting out warm with temperatures dropping through the afternoon into the 40s.

"Rain showers on Saturday will change over to light snow showers in the higher elevations. Very little if any accumulation is expected on roads," he said.

More rain will move in for Tuesday and it could become mixed with flurries in the higher elevations.

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