The latest round of rain does not look as bad as what we experienced Monday, but with soggy soils and high creek and stream levels already in place the National Weather Service continues the FLASH FLOOD WATCH for the entire area and most of Georgia for that matter until 7AM Thursday. Keep in mind with the soggy root zones trees can fall even without a strong wind causing damage or an isolated power outage. Upper level low pressure to our Northwest will spin up surface low pressure in the Gulf of Mexico which will head Northeast up the Atlantic Coast the next few days while another “wedge” pattern (CAD event) develops over Georgia. Temperatures have been well below-normal this week and will remain so through the weekend. A wintry mix is even possible briefly in the higher elevations of the Northeast corner of Georgia Thursday. The axis of heaviest rain looks to run from Columbus to the Athens area. The lightest amounts will be in the far Northwest suburbs of Atlanta with the heaviest rain South and East sides of Metro Atlanta the next 24 hours. But stay tuned for updates in case this changes. RAP SURFACE WEATHER CHART PIVOTAL WEATHER 7PM WEDNESDAY: Notice the winter precipitation on the cold side of the low pressure system shown above. FLOODING RISK ZONES WEDNESDAY/WEDNESDAY NIGHT: 24-HOUR RAINFALL ESTIMATED AVERAGE: ICE ACCUMULATION AREAS TONIGHT/THURSDAY: SURFACE WEATHER CHART WEDNESDAY NIGHT: SURFACE WEATHER CHART THURSDAY AFTERNOON: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DISCUSSION PEACHTREE CITY OFFICE: ESTIMATED RAINFALL AVERAGE AMOUNTS THROUGH 7AM THURSDAY: But as I’ve been saying since Monday the weekend weather looks beautiful for November dry with temperatures close to normal for this time of year.
Hampton City Council ousts city manager over budget
The city of Hampton on Tuesday ousted its city manager because of issues surrounding the Henry County community’s budget, the fired leader said. The six-member Hampton City Council split evenly on whether to fire Charles Coney, who had just been on the job since April. Hampton Mayor Steve Hutchison broke the tie with a vote to terminate. Among the issues the city, known for its racetrack, had with Coney was problems crafting a budget for the town, he said. Hampton is on a fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. But because it was unable to agree on a budget package this fall, the city is now operating on a month-to-month budgeting schedule. Hutchison said he could not comment on the action because of pending litigation surrounding it. “All I can say is the council chose during executive session to terminate the city manager,” the mayor said. Coney said after his termination that he plans to sue the city for breach of contract and has retained Albany attorney Maurice Luther King. King was at Tuesday’s Council meeting and complained to the body that he had not received a response to open records requests he had submitted on behalf of his client. Story is developing.
Georgia state senator, protesters arrested at Capitol while demanding ‘every vote count’
A first-term Atlanta senator was among more than a dozen demonstrators who were arrested during a protest in the state Capitol. State Sen. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, said she was standing with her constituents when officers led her out of the Capitol rotunda and placed plastic restraints on her wrists. “I was not yelling. I was not chanting,” she said. “I stood peacefully next to my constituents because they wanted their voices to be heard, and now I’m being arrested.” Williams said she was handcuffed after she “refused to disperse” from the rotunda. Williams is charged with obstruction, Capitol police said. She was released on a signature bond after being detained for about five hours. Williams said she felt as though she was targeted for standing with protesters concerned about voter suppression. “I stood with constituents to demand that their voices be heard and countless other Georgians who cast ballots on last Tuesday and thought that their votes were counted and are learning now that they’re not,” she said after her release. “I will continue to stand with the citizens of Georgia — and any citizen — to demand that their votes be counted, because that is the bedrock of our democracy.” The other 14 protesters are charged with disrupting the General Assembly. The protest in the rotunda under the Gold Dome was organized by a local Black Lives Matter group to pressure state officials to ensure all absentee and provisional ballots are tallied in the governor’s race between Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp. Kemp has declared victory. Occasionally, the group of roughly 100 people broke into chants of “count every vote.” Authorities said the demonstration was broken up after several warnings because of rules that prohibit chanting or yelling while lawmakers are in session. Police armed with stacks of plastic restraints circled the protesters as the clocked neared 1:30 p.m.,when the House convened for a special session called by Gov. Nathan Deal. Capitol police said they arrested 15 people, including Williams, who are accused of violating state code that prohibits disruption of “orderly conduct of official business.” Williams and other protesters were taken to the Fulton County jail, where lawmakers and supporters gathered demanding that all 15 people be released without charges. State Rep. Park Cannon, D-Atlanta, called the arrests a “travesty.” “It’s funny because one in 18 Georgians is under correctional control in the state of Georgia,” she said. “We see this as indicative of the wrong trends in Georgia as it relates to fair elections and people being able to feel safe in their communities.” Williams’ Senate colleagues condemned the lawmaker’s detention. “When a sitting senator, who is the vice chair of the state Democratic Party, is thrown into a paddy wagon at the state capitol it is a stark reminder that our right to freely assemble is at risk,” said state Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta. Williams is the first vice chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Party Chairman DuBose Porter said Williams was arrested “for doing her job where she works.” 'Today, (Williams) was arrested at the Georgia State Capitol while standing up for her constituents' right to peaceful protest and advocating to count every Georgian's vote,” Porter said. “We stand with her and with all Georgians whose Constitutional rights are at risk. “ Georgia includes a provision requiring that legislators “shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly” except for treason, felony or breach of the peace. Abrams campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo criticized legislative leaders for arresting protesters concerned about voter suppression. “Today there were people who came to the Capitol to raise this issue,” Groh-Wargo said. “They were literally only asking to be heard. Demanding that this state count every vote.” She thanked Williams for standing with the protesters. “I applaud her bravery and we stand with voters and their story and demand that they count every vote,” Groh-Wargo said. Staff reporter Tia Mitchell contributed to this report.
