Rains ease, but not done

More than 8" of rain reported in St. Augustine since Wednesday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After several inches of rain fell over the last two days, the rainfall eased somewhat Friday afternoon, but Channel 4 Chief Meteorologist John Gaughan says another inch may fall overnight, especially along the coast.

Food Watches remain in effect for all counties northeast Florida and southeast Georgia through Saturday morning, but all Flood Warnings expired mid-evening except in St. Johns County, where it remains in effect through 11:45 p.m.

Twenty-four hour rainfall amounts ranged from just over an inch near Brunswick more than 8 inches in St. Augustine, where bands of rain trained in from the ocean over the past 18 hours.

Flash Flood Warnings in Duval and St. Johns counties, expired, but were replaced by Flood Warnings.  With no significant rainfall since mid-day, that ended in Jacksonville at 9:15 p.m.

McCoys Creek Boulevard was closed form Kings to Stockton, and other roads in the area area were also closed most of the day. There was also significant flooding in other Westside neighborhoods and some streets off Hood Road.

Complete list of Jacksonville road closings

The Department of Transportation says one lane of Interstate 95 northbound just south of the Fuller Warren Bridge will be closed for emergency repairs to settling pavement caused by the wet conditions.

VIDEO: St. Augustine | McCoys Creek | Clay County | Jax Beach

Duval County authorities said they were monitoring the flooding, but did not activated their Emergency Operations Center.

More than 8 inches of rain has fallen over the last two days at two reporting stations in St. Augustine and one at World Golf Village. There were reports of flooding in the morning along Kings and Cordova streets and along the bayfront in downtown St. Augustine.  There was also reports of water over the road on State Road 207 just east of Hilltop and trees down International Golf Parkway early in the day.

By afternoon, all St. Johns County roads were reported to be open, although there was still ponding on some roads.

Complete list of St. Johns County conditions

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Clay County Emergency Management reported that State Road 209 at 739B in Green Cove Springs and several small roads in Penny Farms were closed due to standing water. Water is up to the bottom of the Everett Avenue bridge over Black Creek, and Baxley Road and Banks Road were impassable on Friday.

Black Creek was expected to crest at 14 feet, 9 inches by Saturday, which would exceed flood stage but not require evacuations.

Pacetti Road, a hard-pack road outside Green Cove Springs, was washed away by a creek that had overflowed its banks after the two-day rainfall event.  The wash-out prevented about 100 residents from getting in or out of their neighborhood.

The county was making self-service sandbags available at first stations in Middleburg, Green Cove Springs and Fleming Island.  The city of Orange Park had sandbags available in the south parking lot of Town Hall.

There are no reports of public school cancellations Friday, but Trinity Episcopal Learning Center in Downtown St. Augustine was closed due to flooding. 

Channel 4's entire viewing area remains under a Flood Watch through Saturday morning.  There is also a Gale Warning due to those winds, sustained at 35 mph offshore and gusts higher along the beaches.

Channel 4 Meteorologist Richard Nunn says the unsettled weather generating all this moisture will slowly move away, heavy, banding rain continued through noon in Jacksonville and well into the afternoon in St. Johns and Flagler counties.

If there is good news, it's that the rain showers will be come less numerous on Saturday.

"The low pressure in Mississippi will move slowly across northern Georgia Sunday, dragging the cold front into the Florida panhandle," Channel 4's meteorologist emeritus George Winterling wrote on his blog Friday morning. "This will cause our nor'easter to end and set the stage for a beautiful week ahead."