Georgia Weather: Flash Flood Watch Before Memorial Day

ATLANTA, GA — It's shaping up to be an awfully soggy Memorial Day weekend in metro Atlanta.

Travelers and those just headed out to observe the holiday will have heavy rains, including possible flash floods, to deal with well into next week.

Friday morning, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for much of north and central Georgia, including metro Atlanta. Widespread rainfall of 1-2 inches, with some areas getting as much as three inches, was expected.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

By the time the weather system passes next week, areas in and around metro Atlanta could be getting 4-6 inches of rain, with isolated areas picking up as much as seven inches. Even those estimates, the weather service said Friday, "may be conservative in nature."

Much of the rain could fall in a short amount of time, the NWS said, and that's just adding to the moisture from heavy rains that have fallen over the past two days, making flooding of creeks and rivers likely. The harsh weather is being caused by a low-pressure trough that's feeding "very high amounts of moisture in the area."

Roads could be flooded and some homes threatened in low-lying areas, the weather service said, noting that flood waters may not recede until well after the rains have ended.

The flash flood watch remains in effect through Saturday morning.

If you've got Memorial Day weekend plans scheduled outdoors, you can pretty much count on them being rained on, whenever they may be. Every day between now and Monday has at least a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, with Sunday night's 70 percent chance being the highest.

Sorry we don't have a sunnier outlook for your (unofficial) first weekend of summer, folks. Hope you can get out and enjoy the long weekend anyway. Here's your Memorial Day weekend weather forecast for metro Atlanta, from the National Weather Service:

Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 79. East wind around 5 m.p.h. Friday night, a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Southeast wind around 5 m.p.h.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. South wind around 5 m.p.h. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday night. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68. South wind 5-10 m.p.h.

Sunday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. East wind 5-10 m.p.h., with gusts as high as 15 m.p.h. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. Sunday night, showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 68. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.

Memorial Day: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a high near 81. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday night. Cloudy, with a low around 69.