Hurricane Joaquin has moved off the coast, but that doesn't mean we're all going to be okay. The resulting rain from the collision of two fronts is leading to what NOAA calls a "1 in 1000 year" event, worsened by the fact that a week of rain has already left the East Coast saturated.
Residents are being urged to take precautions to "protect life and property." This kind of flooding is very, very dangerous -- do NOT try to ride it out. Obey the evacuation orders, stay safe!
While the odds of Joaquin making landfall on the U.S. mainland are "dwindling,"according to The Weather Channel, that doesn't mean the East Coast won't feel some of the storm's wrath. Dangerous coastal and inland flooding could still hit several states, forecasters warned.Regardless of how Joaquin advances, several East Coast states will face "potentially unprecedented rainfall and life-threatening flooding," according to The Weather Channel.
The historic floods would be thanks to a weather pattern known as a "Rex Block," where a high-pressure front is above a low-pressure front, that will bring downpours for days.
A swath of the Eastern Seaboard — from Washington, D.C., to Charleston, South Carolina — will be deluged, and the area's already-saturated grounds raise the risk of floods through the weekend. Charleston could get more than 10 inches of rain by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
The heaviest downpours are expected to hit the Carolinas — with some areas forecast to get between 1 and 2 feet of rain, according to The Weather Channel.
Flash flood watches have been issued by the National Weather Service from Maryland southward into most of Virginia, the Carolinas, northeastern Georgia and eastern Tennessee.The governors of Virginia and North Carolina have declared states of emergency.
Our focus should not be on Joaquin, but on the heavy rainfall & flash flooding threat through Sunday! pic.twitter.com/fjEoJ23fm4
— NWS Charleston, SC (@NWSCharlestonSC) October 2, 2015
You know if Trump was prez this type of sh8t wouldn't happen http://t.co/XwZMiWuThc ... but seriously, Euro scores again.
— Harry Enten (@ForecasterEnten) October 2, 2015
Joaquin likely heading east, but a “Rex Block” means about a foot of rain for the East Coast http://t.co/kWD44vMIDM pic.twitter.com/ghCNLrNhkw
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) October 2, 2015
.@rickreichmuth: "We could be looking at 18-20 inches of rain in some spots." #Joaquin #KellyFile pic.twitter.com/Uw0MG6s3ml
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 2, 2015
Tropical summary Thu Oct 1: http://t.co/j9SV6CZM3W - Extreme #weather regardless of the track of #Joaquin pic.twitter.com/2y9PYscMxz
— Stu Ostro (@StuOstro) October 2, 2015
