Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please see this afternoon’s Briefing #2 from the National Weather Service. After perusing the slides along with the Hourly Graph and Tide Chart, it seems the only change from before is the Storm Surge Watch is now a Warning for our area until further notice. You were likely made aware of this around 5:22 pm with a Wireless Emergency Alert message sent by the NWS.
Wind gusts around 48mph are strong enough to bring down tree limbs (and thus affect power outages). Parks and Recreation Forestry crews will be on standby to respond accordingly. Dominion crews always do a great job ramping up for the possibility of outages.
Coastal flooding remains the primary threat. Tomorrow (Friday) afternoon’s rush hour will likely see a bit of ponding on some of the roadways, but nothing concerning. The two high tides for Saturday, 3 am and 4 pm, will be significantly higher at 6’ and 6.3’ respectively. These will be problematic for sure, but at the same time, it’s important to provide some context… This system will not rank among our most significant flood experiences. That’s not to suggest we aren’t taking it seriously… quite the opposite! I just want to help paint a fuller picture of what we’re currently expecting.
Messaging remains not to drive in flood waters, to use WAZE, and the secure outdoor belongings, but as a tip of the cap to our Public Health friends, people (kids) shouldn’t play in flood waters either!
The next update will be in the morning.
Thank you and have a great evening!
Jim Redick