Flood Watch or Flood Warning?

10/12/2021 (Permalink)

With as much rain as we’ve can get here in Tarrant County, it’s important to know the difference between flood watches, and warnings, and advisories as well as the difference between a flash flood and a regular flood.

Let’s start off with a flash flood versus a regular flood. A flash flood occurs when there is heavy or excessive rainfall in a short amount of time – usually in less than six hours. Usually, these types of rains can overwhelm storm drains and rise quickly, causing raising torrents.

A flood happens when water overflows the confines of a stream or river, or in low-lying areas onto normally dry land.

Now that we know the difference between the two types of flooding, let’s move on to the warning and watches.

A flood warning means flooding is happening in your area, and you should immediately take action and move to higher ground or a higher level in your home.

If you’re under a flood watch, it’s just like a tornado or thunderstorm watch. It means that the conditions are favorable for flooding and we should be ready should flooding happens.

In a flash flood warning, you should react immediately, usually, there will be an alert that sounds off on your phone warning you of the flash flood. Flash floods happen quickly – usually within a matter of a few minutes to a few hours, which means you need to move to higher ground as quickly as possible. If you don’t see it, that does not mean it’s not there.