As Hurricane Helene moved into Florida as a Category 4 storm and then came through Georgia late Thursday night and early Friday morning, officials at the National Weather Service said flooding was being seen in multiple spots across Gwinnett County.
The weather service reported Big Haynes Creek surpassed its flood stage at 5:15 a.m. at Lenora Road in Snellville. The creek was standing at 10.1 feet at that time.
But that was far from being the only flooding seen in Gwinnett.
The weather service issued a statement just before midnight Thursday saying there is minor flooding on the Alcovy River, at New Hope Road, in the Grayson area. Gwinnett County as a whole is under a Tropical Storm Warning as Helene moves northward.
Flood stage on the Alcovy is 9-feet, which is considered minor flooding, according to the NWS' Peachtree City Office. As of 11:45 p.m., the river was at 10.6-feet, but it was marked as being at 9.9 feet at 3:30 a.m and expected to crest at 10.7 feet after additional rains fell.
The previous crest for the Alcovy River in that area is 10.7 feet. That was set on Aug. 31, 2020.
When flooding is minor in that area, the woodlands upstream and downstream from the New Hope Road river gauge flood. When it gets to the moderate flooding stage, however, the dangers become greater and the road is threatened.
"At 11.0 feet, Moderate flooding begins," forecasters in Peachtree City said. "Significant flooding expands further into the woodlands upstream and downstream from the river gauge at New Hope Road.
"The water level reaches the bottom of the bridge. County officials may need to close the bridge due to erosion to the banks on the sides of the bridge."
Meanwhile, shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, Lilburn officials announced the Hillcrest Road bridge over tJackson Creek had been closed because of rising waters.
At 10:24 p.m., a flood warning was issued for Sweetwater Creek at Club Drive in the Lilburn area. the creek had reached 11.1 feet at 10 p.m. At 9:45 a.m. on Friday, the creek had risen to 12.3 feet.
Moderate flooding was forecast for the entire Yellow River basin at that time.
"At 13 feet, Minor flooding will continue to expand further into the Northwood Country Club Golf Course upstream from the gage on Club Drive, and in the woodland areas downstream from the gage, and for the next four miles until the creek merges with the Yellow River," forecasters said.
"An old concrete golf cart bridge around 300 feet downstream from the gage will be around two feet under water."
The Yellow River itself was over flood stage at State Route 124 as of 8:45 a.m. At that time, the river was at 15.3 feet, which is 0.3 feet above flood stage.
Crooked Creek near Spalding Drive in the Norcross area also flooded Thursday night and was also above 12 feet on Friday morning. The National Weather Service said the creek was at 12.2 feet as of 10 a.m.
"At 13 feet, Minor flooding continues of the natural flood plain mainly on the left bank upstream and downstream from the gage at Spalding Drive," forecasters said. "The water level reaches the bottom of the shallow bridge on Spalding Drive."
No Business Creek in Snellville also reached flood stage at 9 a.m. Friday at Lee Road. At that time, the creek was at 9.1 feet — flood stage is at 9 feet — and rising.
And Suwanee Creek was above its flood stage at 6:15 a.m. on Friday. It was reported being at 10.8 feet at that time. That was 2.8 feet above flood stage for the creek.
Forecasters said the flooding is causing trouble on the Suwanee Creek Greenway, at the Martin Farm Road bridge, on Suwanee Creek Road, Martin Farm and George Pierce Parks, Suwanee Elementary School, residents in the area and nearby businesses.
"At 11 feet, Moderate begins in the Suwanee Creek Park, Martin Farm Park and George Pierce Park," forecasters said. "The Suwanee Creek Greenway is flooded with 1 to 3 feet of water. Water reaches the Swift Atlanta Company parking lot.
"Portions of the Suwanee Creek Road flood near the Bennett Creek bridge. Flooding expands into the yards off Bend Creek Trail and Mill Creek Run. A large portion of the playground behind the Suwanee Elementary School will be flooded. The water level will reach the bottom of the Martin Farm Road bridge."
And, as of 7:33 a.m., Pew Creek at Patterson Road was reported to be flooding in Lawrenceville. It was at 11 feet at that time, which was just 0.1 feet below where it was 12 hours earlier.
Gwinnett County as a whole is under a flood watch until 2 p.m. Friday. The county is also under a flash flood warning until at least 1:15 p.m. Friday. Most Gwinnett cities were listed as being in danger of experiencing flash floods.
As of 8:44 a.m., 5.01 inches of rain reportedly fell in an 18-hour period at Briscoe Field, and the rain was continuing to fall at that time. Between around 2 p.m. Wednesday and 8:44 a.m. Friday, about 7.96 inches of rainfall had been recorded at Briscoe Field.
Flooding is not the only threat to the area, however.
More than 26,000 Gwinnett residents were without power by 8 a.m. At that time, Georgia Power said it had 66 outages in the county, affecting 12,044 customers.
Meanwhile, Jackson EMC said 2,420 of its Gwinnett customers were without power at 6 a.m. while Walton EMC reported that 12,306 of its meters in the county were without power.
The number of outages declined after that as the storm moved out of the area.
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