GREENSBORO, N.C. — Crews from across the Triad are waiting to see just how much rain we get from tropical storm Sally--and whether it causes flooding.
"We always get a little uncomfortable when there are large forecasted amounts," Robby Stone said. Stone is the City of High Point's Assistant Public Services Director.
Stormwater officials in Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem said the biggest time of concern was Thursday evening. Crews in all three cities began clearing storm drains earlier in the week and monitored flood-prone areas throughout the day.
"You can have flooding issues in all quadrants of the city. Low lying areas are more prone to get the flooding over the bridges and whatnot but you can have upland areas where you have a clogged pipe or drain that results in flooding of a street," City of Winston-Salem Director of Field Operations Keith Huff said.
Greensboro Fire Department also monitored the storm. The city's swift water rescue team was asked to come help in Louisiana where Sally made landfall as a hurricane. The crew decided to stay in Greensboro due to the amount of expected rain.
"Everyone on this shift knows that today is when we can expect the worst so they came in at eight o'clock this morning and will get off at eight o'clock Friday morning so they're really prepared to stay up all night if they have to," Greensboro Fire Department Assistant Chief Dwayne Church said.
Church said flooding risk really depends on how much rain falls overnight.
"That's the key--if it's in a short period of time, we can expect some flooding. If it's over a 24 hour period, it could be ok," Church said, "but it doesn't seem to be that high of winds."
Duke Energy Spokesman Jeff Brooks said it looks unlikely that the storm will cause many power outages in the Triad but their crews are monitoring conditions just like local officials.
"We've got all of our preparations in place, we've got all of our employees in place and we're just, again, hoping that this will maybe blow through and be a less amount than what has previously been forecasted," Stone said.
The biggest advice from across the Triad is to stay off the road overnight because conditions could change quickly if flash flooding occurs. Remember the old advice--turn around, don't drown.