Flood in Holmes County, Florida

Disastrous areal flooding occurred across Holmes county with most county roads flooded. Transportation was severely impacted across the county with schools closed and a federal disaster declaration obtained. Preliminary damage estimates for the county were around $8.5 million.

A very anomalous pattern set up across the U.S. in early July featuring a persistent upper level trough over and just west of the Mississippi Valley and a downstream ridge off the Mid Atlantic Coast. This brought deep layer moist tropical air into the Southeast for several consecutive days resulting in torrential rains, flash flooding and river flooding. While several episodes of severe weather also occurred during this period, the heavy rain and accompanying flooding were the primary impacts. Between 10 and 20 inches of rain fell in a three day period between July 2-4, and serious flooding occurred across portions of the Florida Panhandle with Walton, Holmes, and Washington counties declared federal disaster areas. Damage estimates include $11 million for Walton county, $18.7 million for Washington County (including $3.7 million for the town of Vernon alone), $8.5 million for Holmes county, and $1 million for Bay county. Most of the damage was due to roads and bridges, but some structures were also affected.