ROANOKE, Va. – Much of our discussion in regards to rain in the past few months has been how desperately we need it. Accumulations were below average for the past four months, and while we got more than seven inches of rain in that time that still leaves us well below average for that same stretch.
With that lack of rain you might not think flooding would be much of an issue with our next big rain coming. The biggest difference is that we had significant rainfall not too long ago. Rain from last Sunday totaled more than an inch in Roanoke, and much of that rain sunk into the ground leaving less room for new rain to join it.
This Sunday brings even higher rain totals for most which increases our flood risk through the day. The main risk is east of I-81, but most of our region and really most of the Mid-Atlantic could get localized flooding as this system moves north along the coast.