Hurricane Irma

[Keith-N-Jax]

That's some serious flooding, hoping for a speedy recovery

[Gunnar]

It would really be interesting to have the flooded area shown on a map (e.g. Google maps) with the flood height.

Also: Seeing how close the Cowford Chophouse is to the river, are they flooded ? If yes, that would most likely delay their opening.

[Adam White]

It's really surprising. The storm didn't hit Jax and it wasn't even a hurricane by that point - but the flooding seems a lot worse (at least in Riverside and downtown) that it was during Hurricane Matthew (which was a hurricane and came a lot closer). I remember when Hurricane Frances didn't hit Jax back in 2004 - Riverside flooded pretty badly (or so we thought at the time), but nothing like this.

Any of you weather guys have an explanation for why it was so bad this time? I assume the timing (vis a vis the tide) made the situation worse, but surely there are other factors at play?

[Jim]

It's really surprising. The storm didn't hit Jax and it wasn't even a hurricane by that point - but the flooding seems a lot worse (at least in Riverside and downtown) that it was during Hurricane Matthew (which was a hurricane and came a lot closer). I remember when Hurricane Frances didn't hit Jax back in 2004 - Riverside flooded pretty badly (or so we thought at the time), but nothing like this.

Any of you weather guys have an explanation for why it was so bad this time? I assume the timing (vis a vis the tide) made the situation worse, but surely there are other factors at play?

All the rain that got dumped further upriver flowed toward Jax (plus the massive rain we did get).  Strong winds were coming from the south which pushed the water north.  Add in high tide and you've got historic flooding in the downtown region were it is a choke point.

[Adam White]

It's really surprising. The storm didn't hit Jax and it wasn't even a hurricane by that point - but the flooding seems a lot worse (at least in Riverside and downtown) that it was during Hurricane Matthew (which was a hurricane and came a lot closer). I remember when Hurricane Frances didn't hit Jax back in 2004 - Riverside flooded pretty badly (or so we thought at the time), but nothing like this.

Any of you weather guys have an explanation for why it was so bad this time? I assume the timing (vis a vis the tide) made the situation worse, but surely there are other factors at play?

All the rain that got dumped further upriver flowed toward Jax (plus the massive rain we did get).  Strong winds were coming from the south which pushed the water north.  Add in high tide and you've got historic flooding in the downtown region were it is a choke point.

Thanks. It's really crazy. Is the city still flooded? All the pics I see online are from yesterday.

[ProjectMaximus]

^Yes still lots of flooding. We had flooding already beginning in San Marco prior to Irma's arrival due to the Noreaster...there were crews pumping water out on Fri evening trying to alleviate the backup in anticipation of Irma.

Also, one of the people (reporter, meteorologist or maybe Curry lol) said Hurricane Jose was responsible for pushing water inland from the Atlantic and preventing the usual outflow.

[Adam White]

Also, one of the people (reporter, meteorologist or maybe Curry lol) said Hurricane Jose was responsible for pushing water inland from the Atlantic and preventing the usual outflow.

Surely not? Hurricane Jose seems pretty far away (and weak) to do something like that.

[Gunnar]

Butterfly effect ?

[acme54321]

It's really surprising. The storm didn't hit Jax and it wasn't even a hurricane by that point - but the flooding seems a lot worse (at least in Riverside and downtown) that it was during Hurricane Matthew (which was a hurricane and came a lot closer). I remember when Hurricane Frances didn't hit Jax back in 2004 - Riverside flooded pretty badly (or so we thought at the time), but nothing like this.

Any of you weather guys have an explanation for why it was so bad this time? I assume the timing (vis a vis the tide) made the situation worse, but surely there are other factors at play?

All the rain that got dumped further upriver flowed toward Jax (plus the massive rain we did get).  Strong winds were coming from the south which pushed the water north.  Add in high tide and you've got historic flooding in the downtown region were it is a choke point.

The real reason is the noreaster we had two days before the storm.  It was blowing hard for 48 hours packing water up river.  THEN the storm came in and continued to pack in water, winds moved to South and quickly pushed all of that water back into downtown.  If it wasn't for the noreaster it wouldnt have been anywhere near as bad, just regular San Marco/ Riverside flooding.

[Lunican]

The extent of the flooding in Jacksonville, driven by the hurricane's storm surge, heavy rains and high tides, "shocked" residents and officials alike, the governor said, adding, "So many areas that you would never have thought have flooded, have flooded."

Jacksonville, with 1.5 million people in its metropolitan area, is bisected by the St. Johns River and is heavily built up along its banks. Capt. Raymond Lutzen, 48, a Jacksonville firefighter on the region's Urban Search and Rescue Team, said that when the river swells and the city's storm drains clog, "it's like a bathtub with a plug in."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/12/us/irma-jacksonville-florida.html

[KenFSU]

Shad Khan donated $1 million to Irma relief here in Jacksonville, along with 5,000 Jags tickets to first responders.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/jaguars-owner-shad-khan-to-donate-dollar1-million-for-irma-relief

[Ken_FSU]