Eastern Shore may experience drought buster rain this weekend

Photo credit:  National Hurricane Center

It should work out that the Eastern Shore will experience all of the benefits of tropical storm activity without  damages usually associated with the storms.   Hurricane Ian plowed ashore Wednesday afternoon near Naples Florida packing 155 mph winds, a storm surge of over 10 ft and 10-20 inches of rain.   The damage to the southwest Florida coast is substantial and it could be some time before the extent of the damage can be revealed.

Hurricane Ian moved ashore and is expected to be back in the Atlantic Ocean off of the East Coast of Florida today.   It is expected to move north and make a second landfall in a weakened state near the Georgia-South Carolina line on Friday.   After that it is expected that the storm will no longer  be tropical in nature and will become a low pressure system that will move into western North Carolina,  eastern Tennessee, and southwest Virginia.

Out here on the Eastern Shore, the main effect will be rain which is expected most of the weekend.   The remains of the storm are expected to interact with a cold front that will remain stationary over southeastern Virginia over the weekend causing between 4 and 6 inches of rain to fall. This could spell relief from the severe drought conditions we have experienced since mid July on the Eastern Shore.

While this could disrupt weekend activities,  a long lasting rain over three to four days promises to relieve the drought conditions here.

Meanwhile,  Governor Youngkin has dispatched help for Florida.

WRIC TV reports that Virginians are heading to Florida to help respond to Hurricane Ian.

In a statement on Wednesday morning, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s office said Virginia received “an urgent request” to assist from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

“Virginia will be assisting Florida with an Incident Management Response Team and they are deploying today. Virginia is ready to assist Florida for the incoming weather,” Youngkin’s office said

In an interview on Fox and Friends, Youngkin said he had a call Wednesday morning to prepare for storm impacts in Virginia later this week.

“But right now, we are really focused on Florida and making sure they have all the resources they need,” Youngkin said. “This is going to be an all hands on deck kind of moment and we should continue to lift up everyone in Florida in our prayers.”