As most know June 1st marks the beginning of the Hurricane Season that runs from June to November. All accounts call for a slightly more active year than we have had since 2012. Well the season kicked off a bit early with Tropical Depression Bonnie forming off the southern coast. We will feel the affects of the storm on Monday with heavy rains. Predictions are calling any where from 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain. The problem with the rain if it comes during high tide the run off is slowed down which causes street flooding from rain as opposed to street flooding from tidal water. High tides are 2:50am and 3:38pm. Most likely the afternoon high tide will be the one to watch. With the additional crowds in town for the holiday there is not many open parking spaces to move your vehicles to avoid the flooding so you should plan accordingly. Remember don’t drive through standing water as you don’t the condition of the road surface that you can’t see and often it difficult to estimate the water depth. Before you leave if you are down for the weekend don’t forget to secure your outdoor furniture and umbrellas as well as trash cans and other items that can blow around or float.
Also for hurricane planning information you can check the links on our “Be Prepared” page accessible by clicking the link in the box on the lower right hand side of the page. One thing that we at the NWOEM have done is downloaded the FEMA App which gives a lot of great preparedness information but also is a conduit to bring you the latest NWS bulletins. It is a free app available wherever you download apps for your phone. Also check out the Free NOAA Weather app that we at the NWOEM find to be very helpful. Latest weather and radar always available via the free app.