National Weather Service Raw Text Product

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NOUS42 KTAE 160057
PNSTAE
FLZ019-GAZ129-146>148-159>161-161200-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Tallahassee FL
757 PM EST Wed Feb 15 2017

To: Emergency management officials, news media, and other users. 

Effective Tuesday, March 14, 2017 the National Weather Service  
will initiate flood only forecast services for the Withlacoochee 
River near Quitman [US-84] (QUTG1). In association with this new 
service, flood stage modifications will also be implemented along 
this stretch of the Withlacoochee River to better reflect impacts 
from flooding. 

These new flood levels are: 

Action Stage 			99 feet (up 2 feet)
Minor Flood Stage 		104 feet (up 2 feet)
Moderate Flood Stage    110 feet (up 2 feet)
Major Flood Stage       113 feet (up 1 foot) 

A flood only forecast point, means that forecasts are issued for  
this location whenever the river is expected to reach or exceed 
action stage within the next five days. These forecasts are issued
by the Southeast River Forecast Center in Peachtree City, 
Georgia. River flood warnings for this location are issued by the 
National Weather Service in Tallahassee whenever the river is 
expected to exceed flood stage. 

The initiation of these forecast services are a result of improved  
river modelling from the Southeast River Forecast Center in 
Peachtree City, Georgia. The updated flood stages are based on 
observations along this stretch of river from floods over the last
several years and direct feedback from the Lowndes County 
Emergency Management Agency. 

A set of impact statements have been developed that communicate  
impacts along this stretch of the Withlacoochee River near Quitman
[US-84]. These are: 

At 100 feet: Boat Ramp at end of Knights Ferry Road on Lowndes  
County is flooded. 

At 102 feet: The river overflows banks on both sides of the river  
into wooded bottomlands. 

At 104 feet: In Brooks County, Spook Bridge Lane begins to flood. 

At 106 feet: In Lowndes County, the boat ramp at the Clyattville  
Nankin Road is flooded. 

At 110 feet: In Lowndes County, Beaver Run Road, Spain Ferry  
Road, and Old Quitman Highway are flooded. Water will approach 
structures on the Old Quitman Highway on the Brooks County side of
the river. 

At 111 feet: Water approaches the elevation of the road surface 
along US Highway 84 as well as the Clyattville Nankin Road bridge 
further downstream. The Wastewater treatment plant on Wetherington
Lane begins to flood in Lowndes County. 

At 113 feet: Approaches to the US Highway 84 bridge at the Brooks-
Lowndes County line flood and the highway is subject to closure. 
Clyattville Nankin road near the river bridge is subject to 
closure. 

At 116 feet: Significant flooding occurs. The US Highway 84  
bridge is completely underwater. Cowart Circle, Rowland Road, 
Olympia Trail are completely flooded in Lowndes County. The 
Clyattville Nankin Road bridge is completely underwater. 
 
The data for this forecast point is provided through our partner, 
the US Geological Survey. Without this critical data, forecasts and 
warnings would not be possible at this location. You can learn more 
about this and other stream gages in Georgia by visiting: 

http://ga.water.usgs.gov

To get the latest information on this and other river forecast 
points in the Tallahassee area of responsibility, please visit our 
website at: 

http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/index.php?wfo=tae

For further information regarding this change, please contact: 

Kelly G Godsey                              Jane A Hollingsworth
Senior Service Hydrologist                  Meteorologist in Charge
NWS Tallahassee Florida                     NWS Tallahassee Florida
Love Building	                            Love Building
Florida State University                    Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida 32306                  Tallahassee, Florida 32306
850-942-8833	ext 228                     850-942-8833

$$