Three states under flood watch, vulnerable told prepare to act

National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists told residents in Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland living in flood-prone areas to “be prepared to take action” on Thursday as excessive rainfall continues to pummel the region.

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski told Newsweek the heavy rain could persist in some areas into the weekend. With the ground already saturated, any additional rainfall will run off and contribute to the flash flood risk across the region.

Why It Matters

The current flood watches on the East Coast follow two days of intense thunderstorms that have dropped between 2 and 6 inches of rain across localities in these states. With soil already saturated, even brief periods of additional heavy rain may rapidly lead to flooding of rivers, streams, and urban low-lying areas.

The flood watches come as America reels from the deadly floods that ravaged Central Texas last weekend. Torrential rain caused rivers to surge, killing more than 100 people, including 27 campers and counselors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County, Texas.

What to Know

The National Weather Service (NWS) noted that although the coverage of storms may be somewhat reduced from previous days, any new thunderstorms could still produce 2 to 3 more inches of rain.

The NWS office in Wakefield, Virginia, kept flood watches in place through late Thursday night for a wide swath of central and southeastern Virginia, including Richmond, Wakefield, and Emporia. Flood watches in these areas were scheduled to last through late Thursday night.

The NWS extended flood watches in southeast Maryland, including for Dorchester, Inland Worcester, Maryland Beaches, Somerset and Wicomico

The NWS office in Blacksburg office continued flood watches for Caswell, Rockingham, and Stokes counties in north central North Carolina and for Charlotte, Halifax, and Pittsylvania counties in southern Virginia. Watches here were in effect through Thursday evening, with thunderstorms forecasted to potentially produce heavy localized rainfall.

The NWS Raleigh office in Central North Carolina kept flood watches for counties including Halifax, Franklin, Nash, Edgecombe, Wake, Johnston, Wilson, Harnett, Wayne, Cumberland, and Sampson through late Thursday night. Additional watches also covered Person, Granville, Vance, Warren, Forsyth, Guilford, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Davidson, Randolph, Chatham, Stanly, Montgomery, Moore, Lee, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, and Hoke. These alerts are set to remain until either late Thursday night.

Thunderstorms are forecasted to linger into Thursday night for most areas. Any locations hit by additional 2 to 3 inches of rain could see renewed or worsened flash flooding risks, further complicating travel and increasing the hazard for those living in flood-prone zones.

What People Are Saying

NWS Raleigh, North Carolina, in a flood watch: “Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Area creeks and streams are running high and could flood with more heavy rain.”

AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski previously told Newsweek: “These thunderstorms can get really tall. They are slow-moving, and they can drop a lot of rain, inches of rain per hour. Even with the high evaporation rates we have in July, you get a pattern like this and you can’t really overcome it.”

What Happens Next

The NWS will continue to monitor evolving weather conditions and issue updated forecasts and potential flood warnings. Residents in affected areas should expect ongoing advisories and remain ready to act if flood warnings are issued. The expected timeline for the current flood watches runs through late Thursday night, with some areas potentially seeing overnight risks into Friday.