Flash flooding hits Lowndes

Dec. 03--VALDOSTA -- Alan Baker took a look at the muddy morass in front of his home Monday.

Baker and his family live on Carter Way in Lowndes County, a dirt road which was one of the worst-hit areas from flash flooding caused by weekend rains, according to county officials.

Carter Way became impassable after a gully ate away the road in front of Baker's house.

"At about 2 a.m., (a dam) on a small pond behind the house must have given way," he said.

The house took on about a foot of water and the land around the home was submerged; even though much of the water had receded by noon, the Bakers were preparing to empty out their home so a Servpro cleanup team could get to work.

Baker said his family didn't have flood insurance, but he didn't expect recovery to be a major problem.

During the weekend, various spots around Valdosta received from seven to 10 inches of rain, said Federico Di Catarina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee, Fla.

"A line of thunderstorms moved across the area more or less diagonally," he said. "The worst hit area was in a line from Tallahassee to Valdosta."

A tornado warning for Lowndes County on a path from Lake Park northeast to Echols County was issued about 3 a.m. Monday, but there were no reports of funnel sightings, Di Cantarina said. A weather service team should investigate in the next couple of days to determine if a tornado actually formed, he said.

Lowndes County had 10-12 areas of serious flooding Monday, said Paige Dukes, the county's public information officer and county clerk.

Among the worst-hit areas were Carter Way and Old Lake Park Road south of Valdosta, she said. Old Lake Park Road, a paved road, broke apart under the flood stress and wound up with a gushing creek crossing a six-foot gap in the asphalt Monday. The road had been closed for repairs.

Authorities checked on people living in the worst-flooded areas, but no one said they wanted to be evacuated, Dukes said.

Lowndes County roads closed due to flooding issues Monday included:

--Kinderlou Clyattville Road from Old Clyattville Road to Stacks Road;

--Old Lake Park Road from Ben Hill Road to McMullen Estate;

--Old Lake Park Road from Zipperer Road to Johnston Road;

--Martin Lane from Old Quitman Road to the dead End;

--Horace Avenue from Madison Highway to Poole Street;

--Fender Road from 4063 Fender Road to 3914 Fender Road;

--Carter Way from Old Quitman Road to the dead end;

--Tower Road from US 84 to Tower Road Spur;

--Wells Road from Salem Church to Ga. 122; and

--Vann Road from Garshagen Road to Bob White Drive.

Dukes said the county fire department spent the weekend examining the damage and prioritizing repair projects. Major repairs would have to wait until the county has some dry weather, she said.

Dry weather is exactly what is on the way this week for Lowndes County, said Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist for the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.

A cold air mass moving in behind the line of thunderstorms will dry out the county from Tuesday onward, but will also push temperatures to near-freezing at night, he said. Highs are expected to dip as low as 55 by Thursday, while overnight lows will hover around the freezing point and could even dip into the upper 20s, Pydynowski said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.

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