Flood warning issued for part of Brevard County near Cocoa along the St. John's River
MELBOURNE — Though the threat of wind and rain has passed, a flood warning for part of Brevard County near Cocoa was issued Saturday by the National Weather Service as the St. John's River rises in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
The warning, which is in effect through part of Tuesday, said minor flooding is expected in the St. John's River, specifically along the area near Cocoa.
Tim Sedlock, a meteorologist at the NWS base in Melbourne, said the warning is expected to be in effect for the next few days, with the risk of flooding reaching a peak late Saturday night through Monday.
"Tuesday, (it will) fall back into action stage, and on Wednesday, they should fall below action stage," he said. Action stage, which occurs when the St. John's River hits 15.8 feet or above, is the point just before the flood stage, he said. It's when residents should prepare but not necessarily evacuate.
USA Today Network's real-time river level observation map, which uses data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), shows the St. John's River has an increased risk of flooding specifically near Cocoa. Since Wednesday, the river had risen from just over 14 feet to 15.92 feet as of Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m.
At 16 feet, the river would enter the minor flooding stage, according to USGS, with the moderate stage coming at 16.5 feet and major stage at 17 feet.
The St. John's River is Florida's longest river, stretching 310 miles between Indian River County to the Atlantic Ocean off the state's northeast coast.
The river near Cocoa was expected to hit 16 feet this evening, then remain steady until Monday evening, with water levels expected to fall back into the action stage before Tuesday morning, according to USGS. The river was expected to be out of the action stage by Tuesday night.
Major flooding of the river was occurring Saturday afternoon north of Brevard near De Land in Volusia County, according to data from USGS. Because the river flows north, this flooding will not impact Brevard.
Check out local river level observations at USA Today Network's real-time and predicted river level observation map here.
Finch Walker is a Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker
Support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Ian's wake: St. John's River rises, putting Brevard under flood warning
