Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Rain Totals & Flood Warnings


After overnight heavy rainfall, there are some flood warnings to make you aware of. The James River at Richmond will be under a flood warning from Thursday morning through late Friday when minor flooding is expected. The river should rise above the 8-foot flood stage to 10.6 feet. Water does not begin entering Dock Street until the James climbs to 11 feet. But you will notice if you drive over the river the next couple days that the water level is up.


Also, the Nottoway River at Sebrell is experiencing minor flooding at 17.9 feet right now, and will continue to do so until the river falls below the 16-foot flood stage Thursday afternoon.

Flood warnings also exist for the small streams and creeks out west, but those should fall below flood stages later this afternoon as water heads downhill into Central Virginia. Snowmelt is contributing to the swell in that part of the state.

Windy Wednesday


A Wind Advisory is in effect until 7 p.m. Wednesday for the counties highlighted in orange. The blue counties farther west are under a High Wind Warning. In the Advisory region, winds are expected to be sustained in the 15-30 mph range from the Southwest, with some gusts approaching 50 mph later this afternoon. For the rest of Central Virginia, winds should remain in the 15-25 mph range with gusts around 30 mph. Because of saturated grounds after overnight heavy rain, these gusts may be enough to blow over some small trees or power lines.

Flood Watch Expired For All Of VA


Another update: the Flood Watch has been allowed to expire early for all of Virginia this morning. Also, the Winter Weather Advisory to the west will expire at 7 a.m. as temperatures continue to rise in that part of the state well above freezing.

Flood Watches Expiring


The Flood Watch has been allowed to expire early for most of Central and Eastern Virginia this Wednesday Morning. However, the Watch remains in effect for northern parts of our area, including for Fredericksburg and out toward Charlottesville. In Central Virginia, storm total rainfall has been running between 1"-2", but I'll have updates on rainfall totals once the event is over later today.