River Road, City Dock to Bear Brunt of Flood

The past few days of rainy weather have drenched and shaken the region with persistent precipitation and the odd string of violent thunderstorms. The National Weather Service has extended its Flood Warning, predicting floodwaters will crest in Fredericksburg around 1 p.m. today at 18.8 feet, just almost a foot above flood stage at city dock. 

Overnight, areas upstream of Fredericksburg were experiencing moderate flooding. As of 12:15 a.m., the Rappahannock had risen to 15 feet in Remington, with a 17.8 foot crest predicted for 7 a.m. The river gauge west of Fredericksburg at the confluence of Gollin Run showed the river to be at 9.6 feet at midnight. The gauge at the City Dock reports less often. As of midnight, the most recent recorded depth there was 6 feet as of 8 p.m. on Thursday. 

In the grand scheme of things, today's flooding will be relatively minor, at least in the city. Motorists looking to use Fall Hill Ave to get between Jefferson Davis Highway and Plank Road may find themselves out of luck in the early afternoon, and the City Dock will most likely be absolutely inundated. River Road will most likely be impassable as well for much of the day. 

Flooding in Fredericksburg is a fairly methodical beast. Check out this table from the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service which illustrates how rising waters could impact Fredericksburg. The column on the left shows water levels. The column on the right describes the impacts.