Tropical Storm Chantal, which formed off the coast of South Carolina over the weekend, began to weaken after making landfall early Sunday, leading the National Hurricane Center to downgrade it to a tropical depression and discontinue all tropical storm warnings and coastal advisories, per USA TODAY’s storm tracker.
Chantal is expected to bring rounds of heavy rain from the Carolinas through southeastern Virginia and southern Delaware by this evening. Rainfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour can lead to flash flooding in some areas.
Where did Chantal make landfall?
Tropical Storm Chantal formed July 5 off the South Carolina coast and made landfall just before sunrise the next day near Litchfield Beach, South Carolina. Chantal brought with it strong winds, heavy rain and a storm surge to the area, according to AccuWeather.
As of July 7, Chantal has been downgraded to a tropical depression, said AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva.
In central Virginia, rainfall amounts have been anywhere from a 1/2 inch to an inch. DaSilva said there isn’t going to much additional rain. “Most areas there will probably end up with around an inch of rain.”
AccuWeather forecast for Tropical storm Chantal’s eye path through July 8, 2025.
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Staunton and the Shenandoah Valley did not get much rain from this at all, said DaSilva.
“You had to head east of the mountains there to actually see much rain at all. Even Charlottesville, didn’t get a whole lot of rain,” DaSilva said. “Down toward Lynchburg, they saw more rain. You really had to get into south central Virginia to get the most rain. That was the area hit the hardest of the storm, near the border to North Carolina.”
The center of circulation right now is moving northeast of Richmond, DaSilva said.
“Northeastern Virginia could see some pretty heavy rain today,” he said. “Some of those areas can get a couple inches of rain. There could be localized flash flooding issues. I would say mid to late afternoon is when things settle down. By this evening, everything should be out of there.”
The top rainfall total is 3.77 inches down in southern Virginia, east of Danville, said DaSilva.
“That’s the highest that I’m seeing in the state. North Carolina got the most rain. There is an active flash flood warning down there right now.”
There could be flooding from some rivers coming up throughout the day and to be mindful of this, he added.
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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Tropical depression Chantal update today for Virginia