Flood Watch: Ketchikan Gateway Borough; Annette Island

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Flood Watch — Ketchikan Gateway Borough; Annette Island Severity: Severe. Certainty: Possible. A stronger atmospheric river is expected to move over the panhandle beginning early Thursday morning, continuing through Friday morning. Multiple waves moving up will bring persistent moderate to heavy rain for much of the southern half of the panhandle. Elevated gusty winds are expected alongside this heavier rainfall on Thursday, with the strongest winds expected Thursday night. Prolonged periods of moderate to heavy rain will produce significant river rises with the potential for at least minor flooding. * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...The following area, Southern Inner Channels. This includes the cities of Ketchikan And Metlakatla. * WHEN...From Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, other low-lying areas and flood-prone locations. Street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible. Isolated landslides are possible in areas of steep terrain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Rain totals between early Thursday morning and late Friday morning for the Ketchikan and Metlakatla area are still expected to be around 4 to 6 inches, with higher rain totals favoring southern facing mountainsides. Highest rain rates are currently expected during the late morning through evening timeframe on Thursday, where rates could exceed 0.3 inches per hour. Confidence has increased for the area seeing winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph on Thursday, with the highest winds expected Thursday evening into the night. With the multiple rounds of moderate to heavy rainfall and the elevated winds Thursday, there is possibility for isolated landslides along steep mountain slopes.