Heavy rain and damaging wind gusts are possible throughout much of Virginia through Sunday prompting a weather expert to recommend preparing an evacuation plan in the event of flash flooding.
“Those who are near a stream this weekend, especially campers, need to be alert of this flooding potential and have an evacuation plan on hand,” said Thomas Kines, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.
A Flood Watch is in effect for the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia through midnight tonight.
Thunderstorms are possible starting late this afternoon and potentially lasting through Sunday.
While storms are possible throughout the state of Virginia, they won’t be everywhere.
“So, while one county might receive flooding rains, the adjacent county might not,” he said.
Like most weather, the exact timing of the storms is difficult to predict.
“Keep in mind it’s not going to be raining all the time; in fact, there will likely be several hours between storms and the exact timing of storms will be hard to pin down,” said Kines. “Although, we are pretty confident the storms today will be later this afternoon and evening.”
Flash flooding is possible with the storm having potential to produce two inches of rain or more in a short period of time.
“Lots of moisture in the air as evidenced by how humid it feels, so any storm is capable of producing a couple of inches of rain, which over a short period of time, can cause flash flooding,” Kines said. “Damaging wind gusts are also a concern.”
Dangerous flash flooding can be made worse in, but not limited to, areas that have recently received heavy rain in Virginia. During the most intense downpours, rainfall rates of two to three inches per hour can occur, which can overwhelm storm drainage systems.
Some good news: AccuWeather predicts a break in the humid weather for a day or two early next week.
Flood Watch issued for portions of Shenandoah Valley, Central Virginia
A Flood Watch has ben issued by the U.S. National Weather Service running from noon to midnight on Friday.
The Flood Watch includes:
- Albemarle County
- Augusta County
- Clarke County
- Highland County
- Frederick County
- Greene County
- Madison County
- Nelson County
- Page County
- Rappahannock County
- Rockingham County
- Shenandoah County
- Warren County
AccuWeather forecast
Graphics courtesy of AccuWeather.
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Crystal Graham
