Flood Watch Through Wednesday Afternoon

Monroe County is under a Flood Watch starting at 8:00 a.m. today and running until 2:00 p.m. Wednesday as a slow-moving band of thunderstorms sets up over the region. Rain chances climb through the morning and peak between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., when hourly forecasts show the heaviest bursts - some hours carrying a quarter-inch of rain or more. A second, wetter round is expected after sundown tonight before the system finally eases off Wednesday morning.

A Flood Watch means conditions are favorable for flooding. Low-lying roads, streams that run near their banks after a wet stretch, and storm drains clogged with midsummer debris are the usual trouble spots in Monroe County. If you have a commute through any of the county's flood-prone stretches, plan for standing water and do not drive through it.