Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Flood Watch Expanded

The Flood Watch (dark green counties) has been expanded to include more of Central Virginia early this morning. Now Flood Watches cover much of the Southeastern U.S. into the Mid-Atlantic.
The Flood Watch in Virginia is in effect through Friday morning. Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall will occur over the next couple of days. Rainfall accumulations through early Friday are expected to range 3"-8" in much of Virginia as ample moisture from Ida's remnants streams into the region and as a coastal low pressure system organizes off the Carolinas Wednesday. Below is the rainfall potential through Friday:

The dark green 5"-8" is really a worst-case scenario for rainfall in that region. Only isolated spots should see more than 6". The highest totals will be just south of Virginia into east-central North Carolina, where up to 8" are possible by Friday evening. The coastal low pressure is expected to move away from the Commonwealth and North Carolina early Saturday, allowing winds to weaken and rains to end.