CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – Officials with the Emergency Management Center in Clay County said Tropical Storm Colin caused minimal impact in the community, but served as a valuable reminder that we are now in hurricane season.
Prior to the arrival of Tropical Storm Colin, flooding was not a primary concern for residents in low-lying areas.
Recommended Videos
Their main concerns were the possibilities of power loss and downed trees.
The Clay EOC is currently at Level 3, the monitoring stage. Clay County Fire Rescue Crews began windshield damage assessments of higher impacted areas Tuesday. Officials will also continue to monitor lingering potential threats associated with the storm including any remaining flood water, debris, wind damage and any damaged tree limbs that may fall, despite much lighter winds.
Clay officials said lingering light showers and a rogue thunderstorm may be possible over northeast Florida Tuesday, with drier northwest flow elsewhere. The main impacts from Tropical Storm Colin were heavy rainfall and minor wind damage in the Oak Leaf, Fleming Island, Middleburg and Keystone Heights areas which were caused by squalls pushing across the area Monday afternoon. All tropical storm warnings and flood watches associated with Colin have been dropped.
Officials said all sandbag operations within the county stopped Tuesday.
IMAGES: Severe weather moves through area
Expected rain levels were about the same as a typical summer thunder shower, between 2 to 5 inches with local amounts up to 6-8 inches. Isolated tornadoes occurred throughout the county.
Downed trees were reported in the Fleming Island area, but they did not appear to be related to a tornado, officials said.
A flood advisory was issued for Clay County at 3:45 p.m. Monday and remained in effect until 5 p.m.
The near-record flood stage for Black Creek was in 2012 when Tropical Storm Debbie came through. The water rose more than 20 feet, covering a boat ramp, and came within in an inch of the all-time river crest.
John Ward, the director of the EOC in Clay County, said residents should not expect any conditions like that from Colin, but some residents living along Black Creek are still taking time to be prepared.
The highest level the North Fork of Black Creek has hit this week, according to the National Weather Service, is right around 1 foot.
Crews were out Monday checking drainage in the low-lying areas of the county.
Residents urged to prepare for power outages
Clay Electric encouraged members to check their storm preparations and consider the likelihood that power outages would occur. Members who are dependent on electrically powered medical equipment were told to make plans to have an alternate power supply available. Members who have portable generators are encouraged to review safe operating procedures and not operate a generator in enclosed rooms since the exhaust gas they produce contains dangerous carbon monoxide.
Members can visit Clay Electric’s website for more storm preparation tips and information.
Members were asked to not report their power outages on Clay Electric’s Facebook page. Members were told to report power outages by calling 1-888-434-9844 or by going to the cooperative’s mobile-friendly outage reporting page outagereport.clayelectric.com.
Members could also monitor power outages that were occurring in the cooperative’s 14-county service area by visiting the co-op’s outage map outagemap.clayelectric.com.
Clay Electric also encourages members to be extra careful following the storm’s passage, since there could be power lines on the ground that may still be energized. Members should call 911 if they observe a situation that may threaten the public’s safety.
Any resident who has experienced damage related to Tropical Storm Colin is asked report it to 904-284-7703 or email pictures to emergency.management@claycountygov.com