THOMASVILLE —The National Weather Service issued a flood warning Tuesday evening for the Ochlockonee River.  

Chris Jones, Thomas County fire chief and Emergency Management director, said the river is expected to rise to flood stage but won’t cause any dangerous conditions. 

“When the Ochlockonee River gets to flood stage in our county, there typically are very few, if any homes, that are affected by that until it gets well above flood stage,” he said.

The Ochlockonee River flows under the U.S. 84 bridge and is expected to crest at action stage on Wednesday afternoon at a range of 10 feet. Right now it sits at approximately 4 feet. 

Jones said during active flood warnings residents should follow the “turn around, don’t drown” motto created by the National Weather Service.

“Essentially, we just ask individuals that may be out driving in these periods where we have heavy rain and there’s water across the road to turn around, versus driving through those areas because it could be a culver pipe that’s washed out and the road may not even be under the water,“ he said. 

Jones also wants to remind residents to have a hurricane and summer storm plan prepared.

“We are just a few days into hurricane season and we want to remind everyone to have a plan in place, not only for hurricane but summer storms,” he said.