More rain expected after weekend sees saturated grounds, felled trees

Jun. 20—Saturating rain from Tropical Storm Claudette, which has weakened to a tropical depression, felled several trees across roads in Cobb over the weekend, and forecasters say more rain is on the way.

A flash flood watch for counties including Cobb was scheduled to end at 8 p.m. Sunday but could be extended, forecasters said.

Sid King, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Peachtree City office, said areas of Cobb County received up to 2.5 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Claudette on Saturday alone. The storm, which weakened to a depression as it moved inland from the Gulf Coast, brought tornadoes and flooding to parts of Alabama on Saturday, leveling dozens of homes on its way. At least 12 deaths have been blamed on the storm.

King said though Cobb hadn't even received severe winds, the quick soaking of the ground over the weekend made it far easier for trees to be blown over on streets or power lines as "moderate" wind gusts came with the rain.

Rain from Claudette, he said, was expected to move out Sunday night, but, unrelated to the depression, the forecast still calls for more rain on Monday and Tuesday.

King said forecasters will continue to monitor conditions to determine whether Cobb and other counties in the region will remain under a flood watch in coming days.

Cobb Department of Transportation crews were out Saturday night and early Sunday cleaning up several downed trees, according to county government social media.

Reporting all roads had reopened on Sunday morning, the county posted on its Facebook, saying crews had a "busy overnight and early morning responding to nearly a dozen reports of trees across roadways."

The post encouraged residents to take caution while driving and to report any issues through its SeeClickFix app.

Follow Thomas Hartwell on Twitter at twitter.com/MDJThomas.