Coastal Flood — Coastal St. Johns, Florida

2020-09-20 · Coastal St. Johns, Florida

Event narrative

At 1158, a NWS employee reported a foot of water at the intersection of State Road 16 and Lewis Speedway across the street from the San Sebastian River. At 1226, the Emergency Manager reported significant coastal flooding around the Maria Sanchez Lake in downtown St. Augustine but homes were not impacted at the time. At 1226, a NWS employee reported significant inundation of flood water across several roads in Davis Shores. Water was across the entire roadway at the intersection of Anastasia Blvd and Moultrie (up to 1 ft deep in some areas). At 1830, the tide gauge at Racy Point on the St. Johns River measured a peak high tide of 2.24 ft MHHW datum. This was within the moderate flood category for the site.

Wider weather episode

A strong NE Flow event peaked across the local area with sustained winds along the coast in the 25-35 mph range and observed gusts of 40-50 mph with the highest values along the NE FL coast. A wind advisory was issued. The combination of the strong onshore flow and seasonally high King Tides produced widespread moderate coastal flooding around high tides.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 921702. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.