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A major storm moving from the Mid-Atlantic to parts of the Northeast over the weekend is expected to flood especially coastal areas. The National Weather Service said.
During high tides, heavy rain can cause “astronomical fluctuations” in ocean water, said Matt Doody, a National Weather Service forecaster at the agency’s Eastern Regional Operations Center in Bohemia, NY.
Maryland, including Baltimore, could experience some of the biggest tidal flooding events in almost two decades. said the weather serviceHe added that residents should be prepared for “extraordinary tidal flooding.” Some areas may experience more flooding than in 2003. Hurricane Isabel floods the Mid-Atlantic.
Mr Doody said the storm system could bring the highest water levels ever observed to the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. What makes this storm so prone to flooding is how slow it moves, he said.
Forecasters in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay areas said water level records can vary from region to region, but records are set by hurricanes or other named storms such as Hurricanes Sandy, Ida and Isabel.
Friday’s unnamed storm caused coastal flooding and heavy rain warnings from Virginia to parts of New Jersey. Heavy rain warnings were issued for most of Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, West Virginia and Maryland through Saturday.
Rain is expected to spread northeast into New England by Saturday afternoon, with a marginal risk of two to four inches of rain in some places, forecasters said.
“Flooding may become severe enough to cause some structural damage as well as widespread road flooding near tidal waterways.” National Weather Service said.
Delaware has been preparing for a storm for several days, AJ Schall, The director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency said Friday.
Many coastal areas of the state are prone to flooding from high tides on a regular basis. He said he was worried the slow-moving storm could worsen flood conditions because it would soak the state during high tide between 5 and 9 pm.
“The destination of the normal current is now being held by high tides,” said Mr Schall. said.
Water levels along the Delaware River can reach 11.5 feet around 10 PM, According to the National Weather Service indicator It’s in Burlington, NJ, near where Delaware borders parts of Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service warned that flooding could make many roads impassable and “some neighborhoods could be isolated.”
No roads have yet been closed in Delaware, but officials said they expect some to close later on Friday. Mr Schall said counties have been warning residents since Wednesday to move their cars to higher ground.
In Annapolis, Md., the city is already flooding in dock parking lots As early as 9 a.m. on a Friday. Alexandria, Va. was also distributing sandbags with a five-bag limit per address. According to the city’s statement.
Flooding is a complex phenomenon with many causes, including land development and ground conditions.
While determining all the factors in a single flood event requires extensive scientific analysis, climate change is becoming an increasingly important part of the mix, with many storms already causing more precipitation. A warmer atmosphere holds and releases more water, whether in the form of rain or a heavy winter snowpack.
Between 2000 and 2015, high tidal flooding events in the Mid-Atlantic doubled from an average of three days a year to six, According to 2018 NOAA report.
High-tide flooding has steadily increased, mostly in areas along the Northeast and Southeast Atlantic coasts and the Gulf of Mexico, according to the report. The report predicted that over the next 80 years, coastal cities will experience alternate-day flooding.
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