Over 200,000 residents in Melbourne, West Melbourne, and Palm Bay were at risk for life-threatening flash flooding on November 2. Meteorologist Jessie Schaper with the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Melbourne says major cities along the St. Johns River Basin, including Jacksonville, could experience river flooding in the next several weeks as a result.
Flash Flood Emergency continues for Palm Bay FL, Melbourne FL and West Melbourne FL until 11:45 AM EST pic.twitter.com/I0MD7CMWye
— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne)
A Flash Flood Emergency was issued by the Melbourne NWS Office after receiving over a foot of rainfall in the area. Schaper says this 1 in 1000-year event flooded her entire neighborhood in West Melbourne with about 18 inches of rainfall. She recalls by early Tuesday morning, one mile north of Grant-Valkaria and Malabar each had received over two feet of rain.
Schaper warns even though the rain event has stopped, the flooding threat along the St. Johns River Basin continues; this floodwater could take several weeks to reach Jacksonville. She says river flooding is also expected in Central Florida.
“We are going to see those river levels continue to rise; it’s all of the water that impacted portions of Palm Bay and Melbourne and West Melbourne draining into the St. Johns River, and then it continues to flow northward,” Schaper explains. “You’re probably still going to see a rise of water because the river drains such a large area.”…