Well, after a near miss from Hurricane Erin and a surprisingly and fortunately quiet Atlantic hurricane season, we saw some storm action yesterday and last night. And y’all, I don’t even know what to say.
This was not presented as a big thing. It was neither hurricane nor tropical storm. It did not have a name. But the weather system that rolled through Virginia Beach over the course of yesterday dumped seven inches – SEVEN INCHES – of rain on us. And there was wind. I think the news mentioned gusts of 59 miles per hour.
It was a big thing, as it turns out, and I didn’t even know to be anxious about it.
Don’t worry, though. I got there.
Watching our back patio flood and a small river develop down our driveway, yeah, that wasn’t fun for me. But it was the water creeping up our front yard, closer and closer to our house, that really got me.
It doesn’t look like much in the picture, I know. You could easily say I was overreacting. (I might even agree with you.) But that is solidly three or four feet of water on our fence line, and it just kept rising. I was not in a good mood, and I didn’t sleep well last night.
Thankfully, it’s receded today and things have dried out, and I’m feeling better.
But, again, this was not even a tropical storm. IT WASN’T EVEN A TROPICAL STORM.
Coastal living is something, you guys. I guess I should just file this under “Things I’ll Adjust To.” Right? RIGHT???
A Virginia Writer's Diary 
that is scary. i hate flood storms.
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Now I know – so do I. I’m just grateful it’s been a mostly quiet season.
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Yikes!!! So sorry for your fright! (And your yard is gorgeous!)Sent from my iPhone
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Thank you! We really like it, especially when it’s dry. 😉
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I guess we do adjust to changes, but it has been 22 years here in MS and I am still waiting to adjust to the humidity. The good news (even with the wind and the rains that resulted from hurricanes and tropical storms) is that I was far enough from the coast and on a hillside to boot that there was never serious damage. At least your water is blue not brown! It is always a trade-off of some sort.
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It is, that’s a fact. I don’t think I could ever adjust to major humidity, either. I’ve heard that hot, really humid weather called “close” here in coastal VA, and it’s such a perfect adjective for it. Like you’re stuck under a really hot blanket in a tiny bed, and it’s damp. Ugh!
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Yes, been there.
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Good to know I’m not alone, but I also hate to hear that. It was no fun watching that water rise last week.
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That is part of the reason we had the reconstruction done on the driveway a the water was collecting, creeping up under the driveway foundation. Should be done shortly. It will be nice to go out of the driveway and not go so slowly and damage the car.
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I’m glad you’re getting it fixed! We realized last week that we need to do some work in our back garden. We had so much standing water. It wasn’t as scary or as striking as the instant pond out front, but it was disconcerting, and likely has done some damage in our crawlspace.
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Yes, we are working on it now. Should be finished by end of week. Then planting thirsty plants, we were told or St. Augustine.
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That’s a really good idea! I would love to know what plants you end up choosing.
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Ok, more to follow. Stay tuned!
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St. Augustine is more of a Southern grass, zone 9 and 10. Try the Bahia or Zoya, husband suggests. I think you are in Virginia. St. Augustine comes in a pallet and you cannot seed it. Hope this helps. Right now, we are in the process of laying St. Augustine pallets down for our zone in Florida.
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Got it! This is really helpful!
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Well, let us now how it goes.
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Will do! I feel like it will likely be spring before we’re able to really dig into a yard project. But better late than never!
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It can be disconcerting. Yes, coastal living is a different lifestyle due to mostly low-lying land
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It certainly is. I like it, truly, but it’s taking some getting used to.
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And these days, it seems like a whole lot more rain drops than “normal.”
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Seriously! It really does. My parents are down in Southwest Virginia, and the amount of rain they’re seeing from storms coming inland is just frightening.
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Remember all the storms in the mountains? Like Helene, or just the unnamed event that flooded Dante just weeks back?
You should always have a go bag and a plan….
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Oh, I do, and I didn’t mean to downplay them. I more meant that I wasn’t expecting this one. For Erin, we were very prepared, because it was extensively covered. But this was just treated as some passing rain at first. It was shocking and scary to see the water rise so high so unexpectedly.
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Woh. That’s scary. There’s been a lot of floods this last season (especially for those suffering monsoon season) and it’s definitely worrying. We’ll need more than sandbags and extra drains, I think.
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It’s been the same here – lots of flooding from coastal storms, even in mountainous areas (and often especially bad in mountainous areas). It’s scary and sad and just really hard to watch.
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I wonder if there’s a way of diverging the flow? The emergency services usually only step in for places more badly hit. We definitely all need to get better at dealing with floods, they’ll only become a more occurrence.
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Yes, we do. It’s hard to prepare, but totally worth it when it’s possible.
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