Remnants of Hurricane Ian approach the region
Oct. 1—BLUEFIELD — Remnants of a major hurricane arrived Friday evening over southern West Virginia and Southwest Virginia and started delivering the first showers in what could be up to 4 inches of rain by Monday.
"We're seeing a lot of rain moving in from the remnants of Hurricane Ian," said meteorologist Amanda Sava with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va. "A lot of activity will continue to the early hours of Saturday."
About 1 to 2 inches of rain were expected to fall between Friday evening and Saturday morning, Sava stated. Periods of heavy to moderate rain were expected.
Ben Gruver, another meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va., said there was still a 100 percent chance of Friday tonight and Saturday morning.
Gruver said 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected to fall across the region, and some of the rain could be heavy.
"It's still 100 percent tonight," Gruver said friday. "You are definitely going to see rain. At least through (Saturday) morning we will still be raining 100 percent."
The wind advisory is in effect until noon today. According to the advisory, northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph are expected. In higher elevations and along ridge tops, gusts up to 50 mph are possible.
The advisory warned that gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
A flood watch remains in effect until Saturday afternoon. It warns that flash flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible. Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.
The flood watch predicts widespread 2 to 4 inches of rain through Saturday afternoon. Locally higher amounts up to 6 inches were also possible where bands of heavy rain remain situated for an extended period of time, according to forecasters.
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
