More rain on the way for Valdosta
Mar. 1—VALDOSTA — After a week of off-and-on rain that caused minor river flooding in South Georgia, the region can look forward to...more off-and-on rain, forecasters said Monday.
Valdosta was expected to face rain chances running from 60-80% through Tuesday night, tapering off to 40% Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service's forecast for the city.
A cold front that moved through the area over the weekend caused Monday's rain, said Molly Merrifield, a meteorologist with the weather service's Tallahassee, Fla., office.
A second cold front moving through Tuesday will keep things wet, she said.
"The second front will push the first front out, but could cause rain itself,"Merrifield said.
The second front could cause thunderstorms, possibly severe, in South Georgia, said Bob Smerbeck, a meteorologist with the private forecasting firm AccuWeather.
Starting Wednesday, South Georgia should dry out as sunny skies and cooler temperatures arrive. Monday's high was expected to be around 80 degrees; the high is expected to dip to around 61 Wednesday, Smerbeck said.
"The normal average high for Valdosta for this time of year is 70," he said.
Friday, a third storm system is expected to boost rain chances Saturday, both forecasters said.
Smerbeck said the system is expected to pass to Valdosta's south, meaning the Azalea City should get rain and little else from the storm.
"If it moved north of Valdosta, that would put the city in the path of possible thunderstorms, but we're not expecting that," he said.
Area river flooding, which had started to recede in recent days, could reverse course from all the new rain, Merrifield said.
"It's tough to say right now, but there is the potential to go back to minor flooding," she said.
Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.
