Ocean water engulfed streets in Miami on Friday.
A developing storm east of Jacksonville, Florida, is riding up the Southeast coast this weekend, bringing strong gusty winds, heavy rainfall and moderate to major coastal flooding. Significant shoreline inundation has already occurred, with some communities seeing their highest water levels in years. Coastal flood advisories and warnings span much of the Southeast coast from the Gold Coast of Florida to the Outer Banks of the Carolinas and the Virginia Tidewater, with a few instances of minor flooding likely all the way north into New England. Flooding had occurred or was anticipated over the weekend in Jacksonville, Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, North Carolina and the Virginia Tidewater. Flooding peaked in South Florida on Friday, when ocean water engulfed streets in Miami. Charleston saw its highest water level in nearly three years Saturday morning (since Nov.24,2018). Along the North Carolina Outer Banks and in the Virginia Tidewater, the highest water levels are anticipated Sunday morning. “Flooding will extend inland from the waterfront along tidal rivers and bays resulting in some road closures and flooding of vehicles,” wrote the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Virginia. “Large breaking waves of 8 to 10 feet will result in dangerous surf conditions.” The episode comes barely a week and a half after the tidal Potomac River, Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula experienced their most problematic coastal flooding since 2003, with water entering businesses in such places as Alexandria, Virginia, and Annapolis, Maryland. Like the last storm, this ongoing system isn’t necessarily overly potent, but its track happens to be one that places much of the coastline under an onshore flow ripe for flooding. Tide levels should remain elevated through at least Sunday before the system moves far enough out to sea. Flooding on Saturday morning produced a storm surge nearing 2 feet in Charleston and Savannah and closer to a foot around Jacksonville and Cape Canaveral.
