Wind Advisory in effect until 9 PM EST this evening...
Flood Watch in effect until midnight EST tonight...
Tonight
Rain until early morning...then periods of rain late. Rain may be heavy at times this evening. Breezy with lows in the mid 40s. North winds around 20 mph with gusts to 35 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
Friday
Periods of rain. Breezy with highs in the lower 50s. North winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
The Flood Warning continues for the James River at Richmond Westham * from Friday morning to Sunday morning... or until the warning is cancelled. * At 6:00 PM Thursday the stage was 9.0 feet * minor flooding is forecast. * Flood stage is 12.0 feet * forecast... rise above flood stage by tomorrow late morning and continue to rise to near 14.9 feet by Saturday morning. The river will fall below flood stage by Sunday morning. * At 15.0 feet... begin moderate flooding. Residences near gage threatened with some driveways under one to one and a half feet of water. This river level is comparable to a previous crest of 12.9 feet on Mar 18 2007.
639 PM EST Thu Nov 12 2009
The Flood Warning continues for the James River at Richmond locks * from Friday afternoon until further notice... or until the warning is cancelled. * At 6:00 PM Thursday the stage was 5.0 feet * minor flooding is forecast. * Flood stage is 8.0 feet * forecast... rise above flood stage by tomorrow afternoon and continue to rise to near 11.3 feet by Saturday afternoon. * At 11.0 feet... water is entering dock street. This river level is comparable to a previous crest of 12.2 feet on Oct 9 2006.
Areal Flood Watch
Statement as of 4:01 PM EST on November 12, 2009
... Flood Watch now in effect until midnight EST tonight...
The Flood Watch is now in effect for
* portions of central Virginia... east central Virginia... interior southeast Virginia... south central Virginia... the middle peninsula of Virginia... the Northern Neck of Virginia... the peninsula of southeast Virginia and the Piedmont of central Virginia... including the following areas... in central Virginia... Chesterfield... Hanover... Henrico and Prince George. In east central Virginia... Charles City... King William and New Kent. In interior southeast Virginia... Greensville... Surry and Sussex. In south central Virginia... Brunswick... Dinwiddie... Lunenburg... Mecklenburg and Nottoway. In the middle peninsula of Virginia... Essex... Gloucester... King And Queen... Mathews and Middlesex. In the Northern Neck of Virginia... Lancaster... Northumberland and Richmond. In the peninsula of southeast Virginia... James City. In the Piedmont of central Virginia... Amelia... Cumberland... Goochland... Powhatan and Prince Edward.
* Until midnight EST tonight
* periods of heavy rain will continue through this evening. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are anticipated through midnight tonight... with locally higher amounts possible. Total rainfall amounts from this storm will will range between 5 and 10 inches.
* Additional rainfall may cause flooding of creeks and small streams through today. Also... flooding may occur in poor drainage areas. Main Stem river levels will also continue to rise... with minor to moderate river flooding expected into the upcoming weekend. See wbcflwakq for additional information.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts.
You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible flood warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop.
Wind Advisory
Statement as of 7:21 PM EST on November 12, 2009
... Wind Advisory remains in effect until 9 PM EST this evening...
A Wind Advisory remains in effect until 9 PM EST this evening.
The combination of strong high pressure over northern New England... and low pressure along the Carolina coast will result in a continuation of very strong and gusty northeast winds this evening. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph will continue this evening. These winds will gradually weaken overnight and Friday... as the high pressure system moves northeast into the northern Atlantic... and the area of low pressure begins to move southeast... and out to sea.
Gusty winds and saturated ground may cause downed trees... and also result in scattered power outages.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Wind Advisory means that winds of 25 to 35 mph are expected. Winds this strong can make driving difficult... especially for high profile vehicles. Use extra caution.
Record Report
Statement as of 05:42 PM EST on November 12, 2009
... Record daily maximum rainfall set at Norfolk VA...
A record rainfall for this date was set at Norfolk VA.
So far today... 3.30 inches fell today. This breaks the old record of 3.12 set in 1937.
An update will be sent on Fri morning.
Public Information Statement
Statement as of 4:00 PM EST on November 12, 2009
... Intense coastal storm continues to bring widespread heavy rainfall and strong winds to the mid Atlantic region...
Widespread heavy rain continues across portions of eastern and central Virginia and is moving northward into the Delmarva Peninsula. Low pressure responsible for the heavy rainfall and strong winds is located near Cape Hatteras at 3 PM Thursday. Rainfall amounts have varied over the region over the past 48 hours... with the heaviest rainfall occurring over southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina. Rainfall amounts in these region have ranged from near 5 to around 8 inches since Tuesday night... with locally higher amounts.
The following are unofficial peak wind gusts from ASOS and AWOS sites across southeast Virginia... the Delmarva Peninsula and northeastern Virginia... since 600 am Wednesday through 3 PM this afternoon.
Here are the latest unofficial reports in inches from storm spotters and cocorahs... along with a few official reports from area airports. Precipitation amounts are storm totals unless otherwise specified.