Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE -- November started out dry, but that spell was expected to be washed away beginning late Monday night.

No rainfall was recorded in Lawrenceville from Nov. 2 through Sunday, the first time Gwinnett had seen seven consecutive days with no rain since mid-August.

"There was no rain between Aug. 5 and Aug. 14, so that was the next longest stretch, so to speak," said Jon Richards, who maintains the Web site lawrencevilleweather.com. "That shows you it's been a wet two months, September and October, especially compared to what we had last year."

The estimated 3 to 5 inches of rain expected to fall over north Georgia in the next two days prompted the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood watch effective through Wednesday morning.

Much of the forecasted rainfall will be the results of the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which was downgraded to a tropical storm before it was expected to make landfall about 6 a.m. today in Alabama before heading east.

Sean Ryan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service out of Peachtree City, said a secondary weather system, an upper-level disturbance, would enhance the rainfall in north Georgia.

"Some areas may receive up to 8 inches of rain," Ryan said, "although 3 to 5 will be the average."

In its flash flood warning, the weather service said creeks and streams are expected to rise fairly rapidly across the metro Atlanta area and some moderate flooding can be expected.

Gwinnett residents should see drier weather and even sunshine Thursday through Saturday followed by a slight chance of rain Sunday.