Prepare yourselves: Lots of rain heading this way

Sep. 15--Residents in Milledgeville and Baldwin County should expect several inches of rain and possible flooding conditions Wednesday and Thursday as Sally makes her way across portions of north and central Georgia.

Hurricane Sally, one of the slowest moving Category 2 hurricanes ever, was expected to make landfall around Gulf Shores, Ala. sometime Tuesday night. The storm is expected to continue tracking south across the Peach State, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Peachtree City.

The hurricane, which was traveling at just 2 mph, was expected to cause historic amounts of flooding along the Gulf Coast. The storm was expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall. Sally strengthened from a tropical storm into a hurricane Monday afternoon. It later developed into a Category 1 hurricane.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sally had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.

Baldwin County Emergency Management Homeland Security Agency Director Wayne Johnson told The Union-Recorder on Tuesday afternoon that weather experts were predicting between two and six inches of rainfall between today into Friday morning for this part of the state.

Johnson said that's a lot of rain, especially when considering that amount of rainfall is going to happen in just a few hours.

It poses a significant threat to residents who live in low-line neighborhoods near the Oconee River in Milledgeville.

"We want everyone living in that area to be ever mindful of the strong possibility of flooding and to take extra precaution when driving in those areas," Johnson said.

The local EMA director also urged residents not to drive if they see water across one of the city streets or elsewhere in the county.

"We don't want motorists crossing streets or roads when they are flooded," Johnson said. "It's way too dangerous, and we don't want to see anyone drown doing something they should not have been doing in the first place."

Johnson said meteorologists are predicting that the storm could bring anywhere from two to six inches of rainfall to Milledgeville and Baldwin County and surrounding areas in the central part of the state.

Windy conditions are expected to prevail, locally, also, Johnson said.

With the amount of rainfall that is predicted, there could be downed trees and power lines.

Electricity could also be lost during the midst of the storm, so before things get worse, it's advisable to go to the store and stock up on batteries, flashlights, candles, water and other supplies.

If the power goes out, it will likely be out for several hours and possibly a day or two before it can be restored.

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