RICHMOND, Va. — Parts of central Virginia are facing the risk of dangerous flash flooding Friday evening as powerful thunderstorms line up and repeatedly soak the region.
Flood Watches cover nearly all of West Virginia and Virginia, as well as parts of North Carolina and eastern Kentucky.
Warning boxes are color coded as: Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in yellow, Tornado Warnings in red, Tornado Warnings with confirmed tornado in purple, Flash Flood Warnings in green, and Flash Flood Emergencies in pink.
(FOX Weather)
However, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center is focusing on central Virginia as a particularly vulnerable region, expanding a Level 3 out of 4 risk of flash flooding to cover more of the state, including Richmond and Charlottesville.
(FOX Weather)
Thunderstorms moving through the area have access to both a substantial plume of moisture and significant atmospheric instability that could contribute to extreme rainfall rates reaching 2-4 inches per hour, the WPC says.
Rainfall totals in some areas where thunderstorms stall or train could reach 3-5 inches, leading to potentially numerous areas of flash flooding.
“This will include concerns for locally dangerous urban flash flooding impacts,” the WPC wrote.
Updates to follow soon.
