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Potential flooding rain could delay truckers in South

Several inches possible next 2 days from Gulf Coast to Tennessee Valley

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Torrential rain will continue to drench the South this week, potentially slowing down freight flows through one of the nation’s busiest markets.

Some parts of the region have already been hit with 5 inches or more of rain over the past few days, with 3 to 6 inches of additional rain possible over the next two days. Isolated amounts of up to 8 inches are possible.

(Map: FreightWaves SONAR Critical Events and radar, Oct. 6, 2021, 8 a.m. ET. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.)

An upper-atmospheric low-pressure system along the Arkansas-Mississippi border will move very slowly northward Wednesday into Thursday, producing periods of heavy rain in the following areas: western Florida, much of Alabama, central and northern Georgia, far western North Carolina, as well as portions of central and eastern Tennessee.

Because the ground is saturated in many of these places due to recent rain, more wet weather could cause excess runoff and flash flooding. Based on radar, flash flooding may have already occurred in a few locations Wednesday morning.


The National Weather Service has posted flash flood watches for these areas, including Pensacola and Tallahassee, Florida; Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; as well as Atlanta and Macon, Georgia.

(Map: FreightWaves SONAR Outbound Volume Tender Index Index (OTV) tree map. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, click here.)

Major lanes of concern

• Interstate 10 from Mobile, Alabama, to Tallahassee.
• Interstate 20 from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Atlanta.
• Interstate 65 from Mobile to just south of Nashville, Tennessee.
• Interstate 75 from Macon to Chattanooga.
• Interstate 85 from Montgomery to Atlanta.

There’s also a marginal risk for severe storms Wednesday in portions of the South. Spots of wind damage and large hail could develop, as well as a few isolated tornadoes.

Click here for more FreightWaves articles by Nick Austin.

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Nick Austin

Nick is a meteorologist with 20 years of forecasting and broadcasting experience. He was nominated for a Midsouth Emmy for his coverage during a 2008 western Tennessee tornado outbreak. He received his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Florida State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Tech. Nick is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. As a member of the weather team at WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee, Nick was nominated for a Mid-South Emmy for live coverage of a major tornado outbreak in February 2008. As part of the weather team at WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Nick shared the Chattanooga Times-Free Press Best of the Best award for “Best Weather Team” eight consecutive years.