Flood Watch lifted for Hampton Roads and northeast NC as flooding threat ends
The National Weather Service canceled the Flood Watch for Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and nearby North Carolina counties at 8 PM Friday, declaring the flooding threat over.
The Flood Watch covering much of Hampton Roads and four northeast North Carolina counties expired at 8 PM EST Friday, with the National Weather Service office in Wakefield, Virginia declaring the flooding threat had ended.
The watch had covered Camden, Eastern Currituck, Western Currituck and Pasquotank counties in North Carolina, along with Chesapeake, Norfolk, Northampton, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach in Virginia. Its expiration marked the close of a day that began with more urgent alerts across the region.
Earlier Friday, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach were under a flash flood warning — a more urgent designation meaning a flash flood was imminent or already occurring — that ran until 4 PM, according to the Pilot Online. That warning was triggered by heavy rain and thunderstorms, with between 1 and 3.5 inches of rain already fallen and up to an additional 1.5 inches considered possible at the time.
The flash flood warning, which began at 12:56 PM, flagged specific areas at risk including downtown Portsmouth, downtown Norfolk, Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Churchland, Ocean View, Ghent, Cradock, Norview, Norfolk NAS, Western Branch, Norfolk International Airport, Bowers Hill and South Norfolk, according to Pilot Online. Small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, underpasses and areas with poor drainage were identified as most vulnerable.
A flash flood warning differs from a flood watch in urgency: a warning means flooding is imminent or happening, while a watch means conditions are favorable for flooding to develop, according to Pilot Online's explanation of NWS terminology.
Why it matters — Residents across Hampton Roads and northeast North Carolina can stand down from flood precautions as the NWS has confirmed the threat has passed, though the day's rainfall totals serve as a reminder of the region's vulnerability to fast-moving urban flooding.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- No active flood watches or warnings from this event remain in effect as of November 7
Reported by weather.gov, pilotonline.com
