Monday evening update: We had some isolated flooding tonight with over 6″ of rain around highway 125/Savannah River Site. Flooding remains a concern tomorrow with a Vipir 6 Alert Day in effect. Expect scattered showers and storms fueled by a stalled front and a surge of moisture from Tropical Storm Idalia. The Vipir 6 Alert Day continues into Wednesday due to Idalia impacts. Temperatures will still be hot tomorrow, reaching the low 90s, but we’ll cool down significantly after that. Expect highs in the low to upper 80s Wednesday through Labor Day weekend.

VIPIR 6 ALERT DAYS TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY DUE TO POTENTIAL IMPACTS FROM IDALIA…

Tropical Storm Idalia is rapidly strengthening and forecasted to become a hurricane later tonight. Idalia is located off the western coast of Cuba, and moving north into the very warm water of the Gulf of Mexico. This will allow the storm to continue to strengthen, eventually into a major hurricane by Wednesday morning. A Florida landfall is guaranteed, and we are starting to get a better idea of the location and intensity, however it is still subject to change. Landfall will likely be late Wednesday morning or early afternoon in the Big Bend of Florida. Idalia could remain as a category 3 hurricane, or weaken back down to a category 2. Either way, the western coast of Florida is preparing for dangerous surge, a lot of rain, and hurricane force winds.

After making landfall in Florida, Idalia could remain as a hurricane when moving into Georgia. It will then follow along the Georgia/South Carolina coastline as a strong tropical storm. The cone of Idalia has shifted more to the west today, which means more potential impacts for us. However, keep in mind that any eastward shift will limit the impacts we see.

As of now, it appears the southeastern counties in the CSRA have a pretty high chance of dealing with tropical storm force winds, heavy rain with up to 6″, and isolated tornadoes. On the other hand, the northwestern counties in the CSRA will likely see under 2″ with a lower chance of tropical storm force winds and tornadoes. The timeline for tropical storm impacts is Wednesday at noon through Thursday at 7AM. The surge of moisture from Idalia along with a stationary front across our area could cause heavy rain and flooding on Tuesday, which is the reason for that Alert Day.

Stay with the Vipir 6 Weather Team over the next few days for the latest on Idalia!