Cloudy. Rain likely early in the evening...then a chance of rain in the late evening and overnight. Lows in the upper 40s. North winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. Milder. Highs in the lower 60s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.
... Flood Watch in effect until midnight EST tonight...
The National Weather Service in Wakefield has expanded the
* Flood Watch to include portions of central Virginia and the Northern Neck of Virginia... including the following areas... in central Virginia... Caroline. In the Northern Neck of Virginia... Westmoreland.
* Until midnight EST tonight
* periods of heavy rain will continue through this evening. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 3 inches are anticipated through midnight tonight... with locally higher amounts possible. Total rainfall amounts from this storm will will range between 4 and 6 inches.
* Additional rainfall may cause flooding of creeks and small streams through today. Also... flooding may occur in poor drainage areas.
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.