RiverWalk floods after overnight storm

The Columbus area experienced nearly 3 inches of rain Thursday night and Friday, according to WRBL chief meteorologist Bob Jeswald.

Some counties in our area experienced just over 2 inches and others were drenched with nearly 5 inches, he said.

The Columbus RiverWalk was under water Friday after areas north of Columbus saw strong storms. At 10:15 a.m. Friday, the Chattahoochee River was at 30.3 feet and rising. Flood stage is 27 feet. It was expected to rise to near 32.5 feet by Friday evening.

A flood warning for our area was extended until late Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

A few areas in Harris County experienced wind gusts up to 30-35 mph, with most of the Chattahoochee Valley only seeing gusts in the upper 20s.

The Chattahoochee Valley escaped the worst of a storm that produced wind gusts of more than 80 mph in central Georgia.

The NWS earlier Friday morning issued tornado warnings for parts of Houston, Peach, Crawford, Twiggs and Taylor counties.

The weather service reported that a station in the Warner Robins area recorded a peak wind gust of nearly 83 mph as the storms moved through the area.

The rain is bringing to our area some cooler temperatures for the weekend.

“We may not hit 70 (Saturday),” Jeswald said. He also called for a cool Saturday night, Sunday morning with temperatures around 40 degrees.

But that will make way for a sunny and 70 degree Sunday, he said.

We should be back in the mid-to-upper 70s by Monday or Tuesday, the meteorologist predicted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 11:17 AM with the headline "RiverWalk floods after overnight storm."