Sometimes when it rains heavily, your phone blows up with notifications. Flood Watches, Warnings, Advisories, but do you know what any of them actually mean? Let’s break it down. 

A Flood Watch, means that weather conditions are favorable to flooding. This means be prepared, but it is not happening yet.  

A Flood Advisory means that there is flooding occurring, but it is more of a nuisance and not life threatening. 

A Flood Warning means that flooding is occurring and could be life threatening and will damage property. 

Now this seems pretty simple to understand, but then we add in some other words: Like Areal, Flash, or River flooding.  

Areal Flooding does not mean it’s “a real” flood, it means that flooding will or could be occurring over a large area. Typically, an Areal Flood warning is issued when there is a prolonged moderate to heavy rainfall.  

When rivers have the potential to overflow their banks, River Flooding Watches and Warnings. These can be issued even on a sunny day, because it takes a while after the rain falls.  

Flash flooding is issued when the water will rise quickly within six hours. Typically, that happens when a thunderstorm brings a torrential downpour or there is a dam break. Flash Flooding can be the most dangerous because it happens so quickly.