* Flash flood watch until 4 a.m. | Severe thunderstorm watch until 8 p.m. *, 10:45 p.m. — Rain easing but more showers possible tonight, and Laura remnants pass Saturday. Crest is expected tomorrow around 1:00PM at approximately 27.06 ft. Econfina Creek is at 25.41 feet, the record is 26 feet on October 12, 2018. That complex is shown in the radar snapshot below. Cars abandoned along flooded road in Washington D.C. area. Flood watches may be issued for a large part of our region, with the threat increasing Saturday. PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) --- After half a year of COVID-19 guidelines, Florida Governor Ron Desantis has moved the state into phase three of reopening. The Choctawhatchee River near Ebro is currently at 14.06 feet. Preliminary damage assessments are underway. Unless something major pops up, this will be the last update of the night. A report of hail to 1.75 inches has come in from the southern Beltway area from those earlier storms. Humidity levels in the lower and middle atmosphere will increase, leading to the threat of locally heavy rain. The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for most of our region, except our far southern suburbs (areas south of Prince William and Charles counties) until 8 p.m. “Multiple clusters across south-central Pennsylvania should spread east-southeast through at least early evening with a primary risk of scattered damaging winds,” the Weather Service writes. Cars abandoned along flooded road in Washington D.C. area. #arlington #fallschurch @capitalweather pic.twitter.com/wVz3Gois27, @JimCantore Baker Park in Frederick, MD. The timing of this interaction is uncertain.
Copyright 2020 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. Heavy rain continues to moves through southeast parts of the area. A trail of flash flood warnings stretching from near Stafford then to the east seems likely to cover more of southern Maryland in the time ahead. The river is forecast to crest near Ebro on September 18th around 7:00 PM at 20.7 ft. The biggest threat of severe storms with damaging winds will be north and northeast of the District, but numerous storms with heavy downpours are possible throughout the region Friday evening. The first is passing through McLean and north Arlington and headed into northwest DC and downtown. Friday morning, a large complex of thunderstorms organized along Lake Erie, over northwest Pennsylvania, and is traveling toward the southeast. Later Saturday, it begins interacting with the cold front, which eventually catches up and merges with the low pressure vortex. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center is concerned that, with further destabilization of the atmosphere (warming of the surface from the afternoon sun), severe weather could be on the uptick with this storm complex as it slides our way. Some large hail and damaging winds to 60 mph are the main risks.
With some spots already seeing two inches of rain, another one to two is possible. "Excessive runoff from heavy rainfall will cause flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as other drainage areas and low lying spots," according to the weather service.