LIVE UPDATES: Hurricane Milton Live Blog
As of 1:30pm Monday, the National Weather Service was forecasting that some kind of mitigation action would be necessary to prepare for “significant hydrologic activity” at four St. Johns River monitoring gauges in east Central Florida: near Astor, DeLand, Lake Harney and Sanford.
At the Astor gauge in Lake County, a flood warning was in effect until further notice, impacting Lake and Volusia counties. Minor flooding was already occurring at that portion of the river, with water levels reaching 2.84 feet (above Astor’s flood stage of 2.3 feet), and moderate flooding of 3-4 feet predicted by later on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the river’s Lake Harney gauge recorded water levels of 5.91 feet Monday afternoon, inching close to 6 feet: the marker for when mitigation action is necessary for that part of the river, per NWS. Minor flooding of 8.3 feet was predicted for that part of the river by Saturday morning.
Flood watches were in effect for the St. Johns River near Lake Harney, DeLand and Sanford, with the NWS advising of possible flash flooding. At the river gauges for DeLand and Sanford, hurricane watches were also in effect, advising hurricane-force winds were possible somewhere within those areas within the next 48 hours.
The St. Johns River Water Management District’s Emergency Operations Center was fully activated to Level 1 (full activation) as of early Monday afternoon, so as to coordinate directly with EOCs at the state and county levels. All District-managed lands, including campgrounds and navigational locks, would close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 8, according to the District.
“The District is closely tracking Hurricane Milton’s path and monitoring water levels to ensure we can assist local governments and other regional and state agencies if needed. Additionally, the District’s pump strike teams are on standby to assist communities that may be affected by flooding,” according to a press release from the District.
For more information on water levels and emergency contacts in your area, visit: https://www.sjrwmd.com/storm/
