Dayton had a daily rainfall record blown out of the water on Saturday with 2.70 inches of rain falling. This shattered the previous daily record for Sept. 8 of 0.92 inches that fell in 2007.
Much of the region could use a few days to dry out, and luckily, we are going to get it.
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But as I wrote this article, a quick glance at the latest GOES 16 satellite imagery shows three hurricanes churning in the open Atlantic Ocean. And yet another area of concern forecasters are watching is in the southern Caribbean Sea.
Even all the islands of Hawaii were put under a Tropical Storm Watch early Monday morning as Olivia takes aim at the state.
Yes, it is quite easy to see why the peak of hurricane season is typically during the second week of September, and 2018 appears to be following suit.
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Right now, many residents along the East Coast are nervously watching where Florence is moving. Forecasters have been calling for a major hurricane strike somewhere along the Carolina Coastline as early as Thursday. While forecasts will likely adjust — and likely already have since the writing of this article — a significant impact from wind and heavy rain is looking imminent for a significant part of the eastern United States.
If you think it was soggy this past weekend here in southwest Ohio, there have been some forecasts that are calling for more than triple the amount of rain we saw here along parts of the East Coast.
It is my hope and prayer that people will take this storm seriously, especially after the devastation we saw from last year’s major hurricane impacts such as what happened in Puerto Rico.
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As far as whether Florence will be felt in the Miami Valley, there is certainly a possibility. However, it is likely any impact will be significantly less than what we saw with Gordon.
Typically, tropical systems that move from the East Coast – westward across the Appalachians, tend to be significantly weakened by the mountainous terrain. A lot of the moisture can also be “drained,” for lack of a better word, by the mountains.
Still, though, it is something we will want to watch closely as the system approaches as after this past weekend’s heavy rains. It would take much less rainfall to bring back flooding conditions to our area.
Unfortunately, Florence is not the only threat. While Helene is forecast to turn out to sea, a stormed name Isaac is forecast to continue moving westward toward the Leeward Islands and into the Caribbean Sea late this week. It is too early to determine what threat, if any, Isaac may pose to the continental United States, but the potential is certainly there.
For now, our thoughts are with those that are in the path of Florence. One thing is for sure, my view of latest satellite imagery suggests the rest of September is going to be very busy in the weather department.
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