Storms bring heavy rainfall to Northwest Florida, but sunny skies returning for holiday weekend
Several rounds of storms brought significant amounts of rainfall to Northwest Florida this week, culminating in above average rainfall totals.
The weather is expected to dry up to make for a sunny and warm Memorial Day weekend. However, some impacts from this week's storms are expected to linger over the next few days.
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Storms brought rain to Crestview for nearly five days straight this week, said Steve Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama. About 4.9 inches of rain was reported in Crestview, adding to a total of 7.26 inches in May.
"Over the last five days, we've had quite a bit of rain," Miller said. "That puts them about 2.86 inches above normal for the month."
Similar rainfall totals were recorded farther south at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, with about 4.75 inches of rain over a three day period. Storms caused flooding in a few areas in the southern part of the county Thursday.
"(Thursday) is when we saw it max out with roadway flooding over on Highway 98 on Okaloosa Island and just west of the Brooks Bridge on 98 as well," said April Sarver, public information officer for Okaloosa County. "That was the biggest area of flooding that we had."
Okaloosa County Emergency Management put out warnings about the flooding about 1 p.m. Thursday. Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office Spokeswoman Michele Nicholson said no major accidents or stranded vehicles were reported.
The impacts from the storms will be lingering over Memorial Day weekend, with a potential for rough surf and dangerous rip currents along Florida Panhandle beaches.
The water was closed to beachgoers on multiple days this week and Miller said the National Weather Service was continuing to monitor the risk of rip currents on Friday.
"We do have a high risk out into the end of the day (Friday)," he said. "We will be reevaluating that on whether we want to extend it, because I know there's going to be a lot of people at the beach."
Beachgoers should familiarize themselves with the beach flag warning system. Red flags indicate potentially dangerous surf and rip currents, which can be dangerous for even the most experienced swimmers.
Double red flags indicate the water is closed due to dangerous conditions. Individuals can text "BEACH" to 4414 4 for water conditions updates.
A river flood warning also is in place for the Shoal River in Crestview through Monday evening. As of Thursday, the water level was at 5.9 feet. Early predictions had the water level rising to a crest of 9.4 feet early Saturday morning.
However, Sarver said Friday the levels were trending lower than predicted. Some water may pool in yards on Sowel Road, but no structural damage is expected.
"There is still a warning for flooding because of the river levels, but we're not expecting anything major from that," Sarver said. "That happens when we have a lot of rain."
The area will likely not see rain again until Monday. The forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-80s and mostly sunny skies over the Memorial Day weekend.
"We may see a bit of rain around on the Florida Panhandle Monday, but a very small chance at this point," Miller said.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Storms soak Northwest Florida, dry up in time for Memorial Day weekend
