National Weather Service Issues Flood Watch for Northeast and Northern Florida
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville has issued a Flood Watch effective from early Friday morning through late tonight. Excessive rainfall and saturated soils may lead to flash flooding across multiple communities in northeast and northern Florida.
The Flood Watch was put into effect on October 9 at 2:26 AM EDT and will continue until October 10 at 2:00 AM EDT. In northeast Florida, covered areas include Baker, Coastal Duval, Coastal Nassau, Eastern Clay, Inland Nassau, South Central Duval, Trout River, Western Clay, and Western Duval. In northern Florida, affected locations include Bradford, Eastern Alachua, Eastern Hamilton, Gilchrist, Northern Columbia, Southeastern Columbia, Southwestern Columbia, Suwannee, Union, Western Alachua, and Western Hamilton.
Weather conditions are being driven by a lifting warm front combined with moisture from Hurricane Isaias as it passes west of the region. This pattern is expected to bring waves of moderate to heavy rainfall across Northeast Florida through this evening. Ground conditions are already vulnerable due to several inches of rainfall recorded over the past several days, resulting in saturated soils.
Forecasters expect an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts possible. Excessive runoff may result in the flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying or flood-prone areas. Additionally, the heavy rainfall may combine with higher-than-normal tidal levels to exacerbate flooding along parts of the St. Johns River.