EMA: River levels remain low

Published 11:59 pm Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Local waterways were showing no signs of flooding as the rain continued to fall Tuesday, said Susan Carpenter, the county’s emergency management agency director.

“I’ve talked with Mobile Weather and the (Choctawhatchee Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority) who’ve said that our rivers and such are well within their guidelines,” Carpenter said. “We’re going to continue to monitor the situation as the rain falls, which looks like it should continue through the end of the week.”

Forecasters are predicting the remnants of Tropical Storm Ana, which are located off the coasts of Cuba and the Jamaican Islands, have a small chance of regaining structure as a tropical storm before making its way across southern Florida in the coming days.

Today, Covington County residents can expect “more of the same” with a 40 percent chance of rain, 30 percent on Thursday, and 40 percent on both Friday and Saturday.

Hurricane Bill, which became the first hurricane of the 2009 season Monday, is not expected to make landfall on the U.S. as it continues on a path through the Atlantic Ocean and should pose no local threat.

“So basically, there’s no change — rain, rain and more rain,” Carpenter said. “When any system comes in, residents just need to remain aware. There’s no wind or tornadic activity expected this week, but as we all know, in south Alabama, these storms can come up quickly and without warning.”