Published: January 01, 2010 10:48 pm      

North and central Ga. saw heavy rain in 2009

ATLANTA — After three years of drought conditions, 2009 drenched northern and central Georgia with above-average rainfall, causing epic flooding in metro Atlanta and giving Columbus its wettest year on record.

The National Weather Service reports that the rainfall total in Columbus reached 80.2 inches, more than 30 inches above average. Atlanta had its second wettest year with 60.3 inches, or nearly 20 inches above average, and Macon its third wettest with 61.5 inches, almost 17 inches above average.

South Georgia saw less rain, with Albany’s total hovering around normal at 53.2 inches and Valdosta falling nearly 10 inches below normal at 42.6 inches. Along the coast, Brunswick was in line with the average at around 48 inches, while Savannah got nearly a foot more than usual with 61.1 inches, according to weather service totals.

Gov. Sonny Perdue declared the yearslong drought over on June 10 and Lake Lanier, Atlanta’s main source of drinking water, on Oct. 14 reached full pool for the first time since September 2005. The Keetch-Byram drought index showed that the whole state was drought-free at year’s end.

Georgia also saw some weather anomalies in 2009.

A severe weather outbreak in February pelted some parts of north and central Georgia with 5-inch hailstones. And March 1 brought the state’s first heavy snowfall in seven years, with a 6-and-a-half-inch blanket setting records for the date in Athens and Columbus.

In September, a persistent low pressure system settled over the Mississippi Valley, causing eight days of heavy rain that dumped more than 10 inches across north and central Georgia, including about 13.2 inches in northeast Atlanta.

The resulting floods broke several high water marks that dated back to 1919. The Chattahoochee River experienced a record 100-year flood, while the Sweetwater Creek Basin, just west of Atlanta, rose to the 500-year-flood level, the weather service reported.

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Cartersville is the closest city to Dalton where the National Weather Service in Peachtree City measured rainfall for the year.

Average yearly rainfall (1971-2000): 72.5 inches

Rainfall last year: 72.5 inches