By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Parts of central and western Fluvanna County saw nearly half a foot of rain on Tuesday (May 13).
According to the National Weather Service’s Rainfall Monitoring website, rain gauges in Troy and Palmyra reached 5.08 to 5.48 inches between Monday night and Wednesday morning.
Other areas were less hard-hit, with Scottsville recording 2.38 inches and others between 1.18 and 1.31 inches.
Water levels at the Crofton Boat Ramp on Rt. 600 crested at 21.9 feet on Wednesday, almost five feet above flood stage and the highest level recorded since May 2014.
Lake Monticello saw some minor flooding, particularly in the coves.
LMOA spokesperson Marieke Henry alerted residents on Thursday that the high water levels had swamped two sewage pumping stations between the Marina and the Main Beach.
As a precautionary measure, Lake staff took water samples to test e.coli levels, which were found to be slightly elevated.
Minor flooding also closed hiking trails at Pleasant Grove.
Timothy Adam, an amateur meteorologist and author of the popular Fluvanna County Severe Weather Facebook page, said the county found itself in a “Goldilocks zone – a corridor where atmospheric conditions aligned perfectly for sustained rain production.”
While preliminary models showed the storm tracking west of Fluvanna, it ended up directly overhead.
As the storm system interacted with the mountains to the west and the northwest, “the moisture-laden air was forced to rise over the mountains, which enhanced lift and caused the rainfall to intensify and stall,” he said. “This combination of moisture and stalled movement led to extremely high rainfall rates – up to an inch every 30 minutes.”
No serious injuries were reported in Fluvanna. Charlottesville, which also saw areas of heavy downpours, saw one fatality, as a 12-year-old boy was swept away by fast-rising floodwaters near Crozet.
