Heavy rainfall floods Greater Dalton area, prompting rescues but no major damage

Published 8:30 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

A torrential 6.71 inches of rain inundated the Greater Dalton area Saturday night, flooding roads and triggering a handful of water rescues across Whitfield County, according to the National Weather Service in Peachtree City.

The National Weather Service said much of the rain fell in about a 30- to 45-minute period.

First responders reported no significant injuries, deaths or major property damage.

But the deluge overwhelmed drainage systems, closing roads including Reed Pond Road, Underwood Road, Legion Drive, Old Grade Road/South Dalton Bypass and Pleasant Grove Drive, with the worst flooding on Willowdale Road, Underwood Road and North Glenwood Avenue/Cleveland Highway, said Whitfield County Emergency Management Agency Director David Metcalf.

Local first responders conducted two water rescues from vehicles and five evacuations from flooded homes, but the community avoided severe consequences, according to Metcalf.

“The flood watch for Whitfield County has ended,” Metcalf said, urging residents to stay weather-aware via social media, news, radio and weather apps as more rain is forecast.

In the city of Dalton, flooding disrupted key areas, including Glenwood Avenue and Legion Drive, with parking lots near Lowe’s and Kroger inundated, said Dalton Communications Director Bruce Frazier.

There was no sign of flood damage to buildings in that area Monday morning and no businesses appeared to be closed.

Other affected roads included North Oaks Drive, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Roan Street School, Willowdale Road/Kimberly Park Drive, Centennial Parkway at Autumn Court and Needham Drive, with Dug Gap Road reduced to one lane at times.

“All local roadways are currently open,” Frazier said, noting that issues were resolved within hours.

The Dalton Fire Department assisted one driver stranded in a flooded McDonald’s parking lot on Glenwood Avenue, who walked away without needing medical attention.

“Calls for service were pretty typical,” Frazier added, with one weather-related accident and two flood-related inquiries reported.

Whitfield County Fire Chief Paul Patterson described three incidents his department handled: evacuating occupants from a residence that was filling with water and shutting off utilities, checking on another where residents stayed, and wading through 2-2.5 feet of water with safety lines to rescue vehicle occupants.

The department handled some additional stranded vehicles and a downed tree en route to other calls.

Dalton Utilities reported no electrical outages.

North Georgia EMC reported 18 total outages in Whitfield County as a result of weekend storms, with 1,242 members losing power.

“Several outages were caused by trees falling onto our lines or due to lightning, which are two common causes of outages during storms in our area,” said Hannah Parson, Manager of Corporate Communications at North Georgia EMC. “The trees were growing outside of our maintained right-of-way. There are no outages caused by the weekend storms that are still ongoing. All storm-related Whitfield County outages from this weekend were restored by about 1 p.m. on Sunday.”

With more rain expected in the coming days, officials emphasize caution.

“If the weather deteriorates like it did on Saturday, use caution on the roads and avoid all unnecessary travel,” Frazier said, adding, “If you see areas where water is on the roadway, do not attempt to cross it — you never can tell how deep water is or if it’s rising. Turn around, don’t drown — it’s not just a catchphrase.”