Flash Flood Watch Wed 9/8

Re the Flash Flood Watch for tomorrow

tl;dr. The weather set up is nothing like a repeat of last week.

A Flash Flood Watch is issued when conditions do or will exist that could lead to flash flooding. This is different from a Flash Flood Warning, which means that the conditions are immanent or occurring, and also different from Flood Watch and Flood Warnings, which are about the gradual rise of rivers.

When a watch is issued, it is an alert that directs us to pay attention, in case predicted severe weather occurs. In the case of tomorrow, a front coming through in the evening is likely to bring thunderstorms. If these thunderstorms produce heavy rain, there is a possibility that there could be road ponding and field flooding. Most flooding deaths come when people underestimate the force of moving water and try to walk or drive through. This is the primary issue with flash flooding.

A lot of people are justifiably traumatized by last week's storm. The damage last week occurred in several ways that are unlikely to repeat tomorrow. Last week, several inches of rain fell in an eight hour period. Rain averaged over an inch an hour for most of that period and may have exceeded three inches an hour at one point. Tomorrow, we expect storms that may drop as much as half an inch of rain. The storms will last an hour or two.

Flash Flood Watches happen often this time of year. While I encourage you to pay attention to them, they do not foretell a repeat of the tropical storm related widespread flooding of last week.

A final note. Due to a death in the family, I will not be online tomorrow. As always, do not depend on me to get warnings. Have alerts turned on on your phone and make sure the location setting is correct.


My deepest condolences on the death of your family member.  May she live on in your fond memories of the time you spent together.  



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