A flash flood warning has been issued due to heavy storms that are expected to inundate portions of north central Georgia Friday.
The National Weather Service issued the warning around 10 a.m. It is expected to expire at 4 p.m. Friday.
Between 1 inch and 2.5 inches of heavy rain have poured into the impacted areas with the NWS reporting, "The expected rainfall rate is 1 to 2 inches in 1 hour."
The agency said 1-3 inches of additional rainfall could drop into areas included in the warning. Flash flooding "is ongoing" and could "begin shortly," the NWS said.
This affects southeastern Dawson, Forsyth, northeastern Fulton, northern Gwinnett, southeastern Cherokee and Hall counties.
This includes the cities of Gainesville, Cumming, Peachtree Corners, Mountain Park, Roswell, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Milton, Duluth, Sugar Hill, Suwanee, Buford, Braselton, Flowery Branch, Oakwood, Lula, Berkeley Lake, Gillsville and Rest Haven.
"In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads. Find an alternate route," the NWS reported.
In addition to the flash flood warning, a flood warning was issued for Big Creek near Alpharetta until Saturday evening. This impacts Forsyth and Fulton counties.
Flooding of Big Creek has reached 7 feet, nearing a previous flood stage of 8.4 feet on Jan. 20, 2001.
Big Creek was experiencing minor floods of woodlands and fields from Cumming to Alpharetta and Roswell, the NWS said.
"Flooding starts to effect portions of The Big Creek Greenway near Alpharetta and some portions may become closed with around 1 foot of water, especially upstream and downstream from the gage on Kimball Bridge Road and near Rock Mill Park. Portions of the YMCA Campground off Preston Ridge Road will begin to flood," the NWS wrote.
Parts of north Georgia are still under a flood watch until Friday night.
Dependent on the terrain, storms could push 1-3 inches of rainfall in some areas, NWS meteorologist Carmen Hernandez told Patch earlier in the week.
Locally higher amounts of rainfall could total 5 inches, according to the forecast.
The NWS was originally issued the flood watch for the following counties: Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Fannin, Gilmer, Union, Towns, Chattooga, Gordon, Pickens, Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Floyd, Bartow, Cherokee, Forsyth, Hall, Banks and Polk.
However, weather officials have extended the flood watch to northern metro Atlanta and towns east of Athens.
This includes the counties of Barrow, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Gwinnett, Fulton, Rockdale, Walton, Clarke, Jackson,
Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Carroll, Haralson and Paulding.
The storms are expected to last through Saturday, bringing more of a flash flood risk in Georgia. Frequent lightning and gusty winds are also possible.
The NWS advised drivers to not travel through flooded roadways.
The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency offers online flooding and flash flooding tips.
Updates will be posted on the weather service's X page, the weather service's Facebook page and its website.
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