Flooding at business on Ooltewah-Ringgold Road
photo by John Shackleford
Continued downpours brought some flooding in the Chattanooga area and initially closed a number of roads..
A Flood Warning continues for South Chickamauga Creek until Friday afternoon. At 9:15 a.m. on Friday the stage was 21.7 feet and falling. Flood stage is 18 feet.
At 21 feet, Mack Smith Road and Lovell Field Loop become impassable. Water begins to come onto Airport Road, just north of the terminal complex. West Chickamauga Creek increases to near a half mile wide in places, becoming hazardous to adjacent travel in East Ridge. At 22 feet, Airport Road is closed to traffic. At that level, a couple of homes are slightly flooded near the intersection of Mack Smith Road and May Street. Flooding becomes extensive around the north end of the airport.
This crest compares to a previous crest of 19.8 feet on Feb. 25, 2016.
A Flood Warning continues for the West Chickamauga Creek near Fort Oglethorpe from Thursday morning to late Friday night. At 7:45 a.m. on Friday the stage was 12.6 feet. It is set to fall below flood stage early Sunday morning. Between 11 and 12 feet, minor flooding begins of woodlands and fields near the creek upstream and downstream from the gauge on the Georgia Highway 146 or Cloud Springs Road bridge. Minor flooding of the creek can also be expected further downstream as it crosses the Tennessee border into the south East Ridge area.
A Flood Warning continues for Lookout Creek near New England until Friday evening. At 9 p.m. on Thursday the stage was 14.8 feet and falling. Flood stage is 12 feet. Minor flooding is occurring and is forecast. At 15 feet, minor flooding continues to expand along Sells Lane in Trenton, Mason Road near Rising Fawn and Creek Road near New England. These roads and other roads with creeks flowing into Lookout Creek will flood causing the roads to be closed. The water will be a few feet deep on portions of these roads. Also minor flooding will continue to expand downstream as the creek crosses the Tennessee border into the Tiftonia area.