Deluge prompts Weather Authority Alert Day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.4:50 p.m. UPDATE: Conditions are still quiet across the region in terms of new rainfall, and our reporters out in the field are telling us the the flood waters are evver so slowly beginning to recede. 

3:45 p.m. UPDATE: There is an isolated, small shower in Middleburg right now and another North of Folkston. All of the rest of the rain is light and South of Palm Coast. Widespread rain is not anticipated, giving everyone a chance to dry out. 

2:30 p.m. UPDATE: Southeastern Georgia is finally done with the heavier rain, those showers have pushed offshore. Most areas are experiencing a much needed break in the rain, but light showers are starting to push through our Southern counties. For the rest of the afternoon and into the overnight hours we can expect passing showers with light to occasionally moderate rain. Expect half an inch to up to an inch of additional rainfall.

1 p.m. UPDATE: The heavier showers have moved offshore, and most areas are getting a much needed break in the rain. The next areas of rain will move into Alachua County within the hour. A Southern round of rain will push across our counties this afternoon. As temperatures warm, we may see showers popping up across Southeastern Georgia.

11 a.m. UPDATE: Most of us are getting a break from the rain, but Camden and Glynn counties continue to see heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding. Rainfall accumulation across Duval County over the past 24 hours ranged from 3 to 13 inches.

10 a.m. UPDATE: Most of the heavy rain has abated for now in Florida but for those living up in southeast Georgia, very heavy rain continues.

An Areal and Small Stream Flood Advisory has been issued for portions of Brantley, Charlton, Camden and Glynn counties until 11:15 a.m. Upwards of 2 inches of rain has already fallen across this area so flooding will occur quicker than normal.

Areas in Florida are drying out for now and not soon enough. Areas near Mayport and Fort George Island have picked up over 13 inches of rainfall and more could move in this afternoon. 

The Weather Authority Alert Day has been extended until 7 p.m. this evening as any additional rainfall will quickly re-flood low-lying areas that have already drained.

6:00 a.m. UPDATE: The Flood Warning for eastern Duval county has been extended to 7 a.m. Very heavy rain continues for portions of the county where the warning is ongoing. An additional 1 to 3 inches of rain is possible through this morning before more heavy rainfall moves in later this afternoon.

4:48 a.m. UPDATE: A Flood Warning has been issued for eastern portions of Duval County including areas along and east of 295 all the way to the coast including Jax Beach, Atlantic Beach, Fort George Island west to Shady Rest. This warning is in effect until 6 a.m.

4:30 a.m UPDATE: Monday has been declared a Weather Authority Alert Day for very heavy rain exacerbating ongoing flooding issues.

Areal Flood Warning is in effect until 6 a.m. for coastal Duval county including Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jax Beach.

No flood watches are currently in effect but very heavy rain is currently moving into the southside including areas near Arlington, Beechwood, Lakewood, San Marco and Mandarin. This area of very heavy rain is headed for the downtown area over the next 15 minutes.

It is advised at this time that you leave as early as possible as traffic will be a disaster and bouts of very heavy rain is likely this morning and most of the day Monday.

As of 7  p.m., Mayport picked up 10.16 inches of rain! Other areas picked up in excess of 5 inches.

Enough rain fell at JIA on Sunday to break the rainfall record there from 1947 when 1.95 inches of rain fell. The old record was 1.86 inches.

Clearly any more rain we get will on aggravate the flooding across our area. It's not surprising that the amount of moisture in our area, defined as precipitable waters, was 207% above normal for this time of year according to the National Weather Service.

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Heavy rain and a lot of wind is causing flooding in Mayport and other parts of northeast Florida. Some of the most accumulation of water is in Grand Park to Mayport Village. 

News4Jax spoke with one woman who lives on Palmer Street in Mayport, where 6.5 inches of rain fell by 6 p.m. Sunday. She says people could have easily kayaked up and down her street and at one point the water was up to her porch.

"This is my side yard. You can get a nice picture of this. It's flooded completely all the way back to the rear of my home," Janice Strickland said.

Strickland says she knew it was going to rain but didn't know the front of her home and street would be underwater by the time she got out of church.

"This has been unusually heavy. I haven't seen the flooding around my house, probably in 10 years, that is this bad," Strickland said.

At one point, Strickland tells us the water in her front yard had reached the second step leading to her front door. A look around the house shows rainwater all to the sides. Not to mention her back porch where she does the laundry was extremely wet.

"I turned off the electricity to my air conditioner unit because the water was up on it about five inches. I turned off the electricity to my laundry room because my laundry room was flooded," Strickland said.

Strickland tells us her neighbors have only just started leaving their homes in the last couple of hours. She also says drainage issues have been a problem for several years. Now she just waits for the problem to go away. She's also looking on the bright side.

"Had this been a school day, I teach her in Duval County. Had it been a school day, it would have been a big, big problem because I wouldn't have been able to get out my street," Strickland said.

Strickland also said when this happens there's also septic tank issues because the ground gets so wet. She says that usually takes a couple of days to clear up.

Nancy Jones had just gotten home from picking up her grandson Sunday afternoon--when she found she could barely walk through
her yard.

"We were walking through this deep of water from our truck parked on the side of the house and through the back porch," said Jones. "We've got
pictures of the backyard. A cooler floating in the backyard."

Sunday night, Red Cross volunteers opened a shelter for residents displaced by the flooding at thee Highlands United Presbyterian Church located at 10900 McCormick Road, but with no one in the shelter early Monday, it was closed.