Ladies and Gents,
We concluded an afternoon call with VDEM and the NWS. Their latest Idalia brief should come out around 5-5:30pm, but this is what was discussed…
Arrival of weather conditions should arrive late Wednesday night / early Thursday morning and remain for about 18-24 hours.
We could see gusts between 30-40mph and currently forecasted to receive 0.5”-1” of rainfall.
There will be coastal flooding. Based on the tide chart, we’re looking at minor flooding peaking Thursday at 10am, again at 10pm, and Friday morning at 11am. That’s as far as current models show. The level of flooding isn’t catastrophic, but it will certainly cause ponding in the usual roadways.
The threshold to consider opening city garages for people to relocate their vehicles from low-lying areas is 5.5’. We’re not there and hopefully won’t be, but just want to keep it in the back of our mind should conditions change.
Stand by later today for NWS’s official Idalia update briefing.
Thanks!
Jim Redick
Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response