Editor's Note: Storm model courtesy of WDTV.  Read related story, Harrison, Marion and Monongalia County Emergency Management departments join forces to prepare for potential remnants of Florence HERE. 

 

Gov. Jim Justice issued a State of Preparedness in advance of Hurricane Florence which is expected to hit the Eastern Seaboard later this week. This will cover the entire state of West Virginia and it allows for the mobilization of resources to assist with preparation for any potential flooding or other storm related damage.

The impacts the hurricane will have on the immediate Harrison County area is expected to include potential flooding and uprooted trees due to already saturated conditions. As to when Florence will leave her mark in North Central West Virginia is yet to be determined.

 

“There are still a lot of question marks up in the air,” said WDTV Meteorologist Jessica Pash. “Basically, landfall is going to be somewhere in North Carolina or South Carolina coastline as a strong category 3 or even weak category 4. After that, late Thursday into early Friday, things are going to get interesting as the storm stalls out on the coast.”

 

What is unknown is when the storm is expected to pick up movement again and just what effects will be seen in the Mountain State.

 

“I don’t think we’ll see a lot of feeder rain or even a significant amount of inches of rain, but I do think the issue here, in fact, is that this past weekend we saw about four inches of rain in some locations and with what we dealt with over the weekend and the fact that it’s not going to be dry over the next couple of days – with rain in the forecast today -  with the ground already saturated so much and what we saw happening over the weekend with the same conditions, we could see some issues.”

 

Florence is going to to create a long duration event, Pash said. Tentatively, rain is expected to start here in West Virginia with showers late-Friday with the same threat into Saturday, she said.

 

“Late Sunday into Monday and Tuesday is our best time frame for heavier rain to move through,” Pash said.

 

As of early-Wednesday, models are having a very hard time trying to pinpoint when the remnants are going to pick up and move again. If it is later than is now expected, heavy rains could be pushed back to Tuesday and Wednesday, Pash said.

 

“It’s a very tricky forecast for us,” she said. “The main point I want people to understand is it’s not the inches of rain we’re going to get from this system, it’s going to be the rain we had in the past week combined with the fact that we aren’t having much dry weather this week.”

 

The Mountain State, Pash reiterates, could get enough rain which, combined with already saturated conditions, could create a scenario similar to this past weekend and this time, impacts could uproot trees and see rising rivers. The best chance for the highest rain accumulation is in the mountains, she added.

 

Meteorologists should have a better idea Thursday as to exactly what and when the immediate area should see the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, Pash said.

 

According to a press release, Governor Justice has instructed all state agencies to exercise their appropriate authorities associated with a State of Preparedness. He stands ready to declare a state of emergency for all areas that the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management deem necessary.