Atlanta and New Orleans are at risk of flash flooding this week as rain drenches the South

ATLANTA – A rainy start to the week puts millions of people in the South, including the Atlanta area, at risk of flash flooding.

A major anticyclone that brought arctic cold to much of the South and East last week is moving away from Florida and will now, ironically, push in its wake a plume of tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico into the U.S. Gulf Coast.

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This graphic shows the setup for tropical moisture in the south.

(FOX Weather)

This will bring heavy rains across the lower Mississippi Valley beginning Sunday and into Sunday night, with a few showers in southern Louisiana bringing rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour.

There is a risk of flash flooding in New Orleans and Atlanta on Monday and Tuesday

An intensifying shot of moisture will arrive in the South on Monday and Tuesday, caused by a storm that drenched the Pacific Northwest over the weekend. Most of the rain will fall in pleasing amounts, but heavier and persistent showers could trigger flash flooding.

NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center on Monday reported a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk for the central Gulf Coast, including New Orleans.

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The risk spreads north and east into the Southeast on Tuesday, including Atlanta and Montgomery, Alabama.

Some of the heaviest rainfall totals could reach 2 to 5 inches along a flow front Tuesday.

Here’s what you need to do after your car is flooded:

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Ultimately, rainfall totals will be a widespread 3 to 5 inches across Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia, with locally higher amounts of over 5 inches possible.

Aside from the flooding threat, this rain will benefit far southeastern Texas and central Alabama, where severe to extreme drought is still present.