Going to Philadelphia on Saturday to see Willie Nelson, assuming the show is still a go. Fingers crossed we come home to a dry (interior) house on Sunday.
Remember that time when Trump defied wisdom and reason, and gazed at the solar eclipse? Would it be so tragically out of character for him to be standing on the roof of the White House, shrieking into the hurricane, “The rain god’s a pussy!”?
Why are they doing that? By all accounts, Florence is going to make landfall somewhere in the vicinity of Wilmington, NC, and according to the NWS, is only supposed to get 3-4" of rain.
Just trying to stay prepared. As recently as yesterday morning, the storm was expected to make landfall further north, which would park the outer portions of the storm right over the city. Since then, it turns out the storm’s path has brought it to land further south, so now we’re just looking at a couple of inches of rain over the weekend. There’s still probably going to be some flooding around the area in places because it’s been rainy for a while already, but not the massive deluge they were preparing for.
There’s also the predicted turn to the north and east of the remnants which could bring us a lot of rain early next week. As saturated is the ground is, there’s a real potential for flooding.
We’ve already had closed roads due to flooding this week. If the storm brings lots more water we’ll be in jeopardy.
“State of Emergency” in DC sets in motion all kinds of changes in local laws and services. From parking on certain streets to construction permitting, to the City employee’s leave policy, it catalyses preparations and makes people and equipment available.
And regardless, the devastation down the coast will have an effect here. Grocery stores may not get deliveries for a few days. Tons of garbage and chemicals will get washed into the water system. All kinds of disruptions are likely without any buildings getting knocked down.
Downtown DC sits on a spit of land between the Potomoc River estuary and the Chesapeake Bay. Alexandria is on the west bank of the Potomoc. The whole area (parts of which are built on the tidal plane) is vulnerable to even small increases in flooding.
In 1933, there was a hurricane similar to Florence, a category 4 called the Chesapeake - Potomac hurricane.
It, too landed in the Outer Banks and then travelled up the coast, right up the Chesapeake Bay, where DC sits.
DC might not see much rain, but storm surge along the many rivers in the area, and winds affecting the tidal surge can still cause real havoc.
St. Mary’s College of MD, which is in the southern part of the county, has closed as of noon today as a precaution. Considering it’s right on the water and the chance of really high tides is pretty good, it’s probably a wise decision. MD 5, which passes right thru the campus, is just a few feet above normal water level. It could be under water easily.