The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for Copperhill, Tennessee, early Thursday after local law enforcement reported "widespread catastrophic flash flooding" with "numerous businesses and homes under several feet of water," according to the weather service office in Morristown. A second emergency covers McCaysville, Georgia, the town directly across the state line, where radar and rain gauges showed 3 to 5 inches of rain.
The river between the two towns went past its record. The Toccoa River, which becomes the Ocoee where it crosses into Tennessee, reached 18.05 feet at the USGS gauge in Copperhill at 6 a.m. Eastern, 3 a.m. Pacific, according to provisional data. The highest crest in the weather service's records for that gauge is 17.75 feet, set in February 1990. Major flood stage there is 14 feet. On Wednesday evening the river stood at 2.79 feet.
What the warnings say
Both flash flood warnings run until 9 a.m. Eastern, 6 a.m. Pacific. The Morristown office lists Ducktown and Copperhill among the places flooding and tells residents to follow local evacuation orders. "This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!" both offices wrote.
The Peachtree City office said no more rain was expected over McCaysville, but that flooding would continue. The Copperhill gauge rose more than 15 feet in under 11 hours. Most of that came after 11 p.m.
A separate river flood warning for south central Polk County, in effect until 9:15 a.m. Eastern, says the water is runoff "from extreme rainfall in Georgia" and that more runoff is likely to keep moving downstream.
None of the warnings mention injuries, and officials have not released a count of damaged homes or businesses.
What to do if you are in the area
The weather service tells people to move to higher ground and not to travel unless they are leaving a flooded area or are under an evacuation order. Most flood deaths happen in vehicles, so do not drive onto a flooded road.
The Storm Prediction Center's Thursday outlook says severe storms are unlikely for the rest of the day.
