Tropical Storm Ivan dropped more than 5 inches of rain in the Atlanta area September 16-17, 2004, causing extensive flooding and new record peaks for several streams throughout the region. Heavy rain fell on ground already-saturated from Tropical Storm Frances the previous week, and was so intense in some areas of the multi-county metro Atlanta area that it exceeded the capacity of gutters, drains, and storm sewers to convey runoff to stream channels. Many major roads in the metro area were closed because of flooding and/or damage. The urban flooding in the Atlanta area also caused much property damage. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors flood conditions through an extensive real-time network of about 170 streamgages.
“Peak discharge at the Peachtree Creek gage was about 10,000 cubic feet per second, which is about the volume of six typical backyard swimming pools flowing past the gage every second,” said Ed Martin, USGS Georgia District Chief.
The most significantly affected areas in north Georgia were in the upper Mobile, Savannah, Tennessee, and Chattahoochee River basins, including several streams in the Atlanta area. New peaks of record occurred at:
Other stations of note were Suwannee Creek near Suwannee [ streamflow graph | stage graph ], which recorded the third highest peak of record (10.90); and Mill Creek near Crandall (6.03 feet) [ streamflow graph | stage graph ] and Lookout Creek near New England (20.34 feet) [ streamflow graph | stage graph ], both of which were the second highest peaks of record.
Stream levels were still rising in some of the larger streams in the affected river basins at the time of this summary. The peak stage information will be updated as data are collected and reported to the USGS Georgia District office in Atlanta.
The USGS has collected streamflow data in Georgia for more than 100 years. For current Georgia streamflow information including discharge, precipitation, and gage height, please visit http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ga/nwis/rt.
For more information on USGS flood activities and related impacts from Hurricane Ivan, please see: http://water.usgs.gov/osw/.
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