The National Weather Service has issued an Areal Flood Watch for Alexandria with rain expected this afternoon and most of this weekend.
While it’s clear skies this morning, the forecast for rain comes after heavy rainfall last night.
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A storm that postponed the city’s birthday celebrations last month set a rainfall record in Alexandria according to a floodwater mitigation newsletter prepared by the city.
The Flood Action Alexandria newsletter, prepared by Flood Action Alexandria communications specialist Amanda Dolasinski, noted that a storm on July 9 set the record for rainfall recorded before 7 a.m. The newsletter said the city saw nearly 4 inches of rainfall in the northeast section of Alexandria and pushed Four Mile Run to to the 10-foot stage at Shirlington Road Bridge.
Alexandria and areas nearby are under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch this evening and a Flood Watch.
The National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch earlier today (Monday), cautioning flooding may occur this evening and a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect until 10 p.m.
The City of Alexandria has a handful of irons in the fire when it comes to stormwater management, but one new approach is one of the oldest tactics: storing runoff in rain barrels.
The city announced yesterday that it’s planning to offer a limited supply of free rain barrels, with more available via raffle at the city libraries.
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(Updated 3:40 p.m.) Keep an eye on the skies: Alexandria is under a severe thunderstorm watch and a flash flood warning.
“The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for Alexandria,” the city said in a release. “Avoid small streams and do not drive through water on roadways.”
After a Sunday storm that knocked out power to much of the city, some locals suggested Dominion Energy look into undergrounding more of its utilities, but the power company says costs and other factors keep that from being a viable option on a city-wide scale.
Alan Bradshaw, vice president of strategic partnerships for Dominion Energy, said commissioned studies found the cost of undergrounding all utilities to be “outlandish.”
A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Alexandria and the city is starting to see heavy rainfall.
The city is also under an areal flood watch.
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Updated at 11:15 p.m. It took nearly five hours for the power to turn back on for thousands of Alexandria residents on a steamy Sunday night (May 22).
Alexandria got hit by a severe thunderstorm at around 6 p.m. At 8:36 p.m., Dominion Energy tweeted that there were more than 25,000 homes still without power in Northern Virginia.
Alexandrians are being told to seek shelter indoors immediately.
“The National Weather Service has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Alexandria,” the city said in a release. “Seek indoor shelter immediately.”
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(Updated 8:30 p.m.) As part of an upcoming overview of the budget, Alexandria’s City Council will be considering an increase in the stormwater utility fee (item 16).
The fee is scheduled to increase from $280 to $294 for the stormwater utility fee bill due Nov. 15 this year.
Nearly a year after Alexandria launched a flood mitigation program to reimburse projects on private properties, the city is apologizing for some delays with the program and said the process should be streamlined soon.
The Flood Mitigation Grant Program partially reimburses residents to install flood mitigation practices on their property. The pilot program launched last August and received over 175 applications. Applicants can receive a reimbursement of up to 50% of their project costs, up to $5,000. So far, the city has reimbursed nearly $300,000 worth of flood mitigation projects. Bill Skrabak, deputy director of Infrastructure & Environmental Quality, said the city was hopeful it would get some use but wasn’t prepared for the number of grant requests.