Thread: OT (kinda) Flood Watch?

Looks like "they're" calling for this front to get hung up over the area. NWS posted a flood watch for pretty much everybody north and west of Suffolk.
I understand the difference between a watch and a warning btw.
I'm also not trying to be chicken little. Dayton has that covered.
I've just been monitoring the weather (my whole life) and my family won't talk to me about it anymore.
At any rate, I've seen better forecasts for fishing.

Does sound like some big rain coming. The James will rise probably. The Chick however is a strange river. Over the last 5 years I have watched the river levels because I fish the James river alot. Heavy rains bring the river level in Richmond up kinda quick. But, the majority of the time, the Chick river levels and flows do not rise like the James. I'd like to see a topo map of central VA, because the rain has to fall in a very specific place to make the chick run strong. The Chick drainage must be a small sliver. Fun to keep an I on it.

USGS Real-Time Data for Virginia_ Streamflow

Click the above link and scroll down to the chosen river and location on that river.

Dayton

Would heavy rain have any effect on the lake?

The Chick dam is just a "spill over the top" dam. So, the flow would be the same for the river or lake. Not a lot of current do to tide up there below the dam. Since the dam is there, the water has no where to go on the incoming tide, so is just rises.

Dayton

The Chick appears surrounded by a lot of undeveloped marsh/swamp. More of an area for excess water to rise into.
The James has a lot of developement, impervious surfaces and a more hilly topography. Nowhere for the rain to go, but in the river.
That's my theory for Dayton's observations. Till I come up with a better one.

That makes since. I have no rebutt.

Dayton