Charleston Flooding Caused By Heavy Rains
According to recent updates from The Weather Channel, Charleston, South Carolina, experienced flooded roadways on Monday morning, caused by an unusual amount of heavy rains in the area. Home to the first public college, the first playhouse, and the first museum ever built in the United States, Charleston received 6.25 inches of rain between midnight and 8 a.m. Monday morning. This measure broke the previous daily record, set in 2006, of 2.61 inches. On Monday alone, the city saw more rain then they’d seen in the previous 30 days of August put together.
Meteorologist Chris Dolce described the cause of the heavy rains:
“A dip in the jet stream over the South is helping to send a pipeline of deep moisture from Florida northeastward to the coastal Carolinas. This has contributed to the development of slow-moving thunderstorms this morning near the South Carolina coast that have unleashed torrential rainfall.”
Because of the flooding, many major roadways were closed, and some were even completely underwater. Nonetheless, drivers ventured out onto the submerged motorways, and some found themselves stranded or waterlogged. There was one water rescue reported on Monday morning, and a mudslide reported around 8:30 a.m. So far, no fatalities have been reported.
Citizens of Charleston expects that the flood could worsen due to high tides in the area, which are expected to be in effect until Wednesday at least. They also anticipate that the final throws of Tropical Storm Erika may also contribute to their current state of crisis.
Dolce added, “Heavy rain could create additional flooding problems on Monday from the coastal Carolinas to Florida, where moisture from former Tropical Storm Erika will enhance rainfall.”
Charleston experienced major flooding just two weeks ago, and may see major water damage in homes and establishments in the weeks to come.
