Heavy thunderstorms may be hitting the U.S. Virgin Islands through Thursday and local officials say to be wary of possible flash flooding.
Conditions will be ripe for storms as an area of deep tropical moisture moves slowly northward across the Virgin Islands, according to the National Weather Service.
The pattern of unsettled weather is expected to remain over the Virgin Islands for the next 48 hours ─ through Thursday ─ and conditions are favorable for the development of thunderstorms with moderate to heavy rainfall. The territory should see the worst of this system Wednesday.
The V.I.Territorial Emergency Management Agency and the V.I. Department of Public Works are urging residents to monitor its VI Alert website (http://www.vialert.gov/) for severe weather alerts and notifications, as well as local media reports.
“With the soils already saturated by three major storms within the last three to four months, residents should be aware that conditions are favorable for flash flooding,” acting VITEMA Director Elton Lewis said in a VITEMA statement. “We’re asking residents to begin to take all the necessary precautionary measures.”
Motorists should proceed with extreme caution along the roadways during the heavy rains and avoid driving through pooled water which may be covering large potholes and sinkholes, Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls said in the VITEMA statement.
“Our roads are still heavily damaged from the previous storms and we’re urging motorists to use extreme caution, particularly in areas prone to flooding,” Smalls said.
