Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Following torrential downpours over the weekend, the James River is at about 13 feet -- a foot above flood stage.
NBC12 meteorologist Andrew Freiden says the river will fall back below flood stage this evening, but it will remain at levels not safe for amateurs for the next few days.
"The city is urging basically nobody to go onto the water today," says Freiden. "The problem comes if someone needs to be rescued, you're putting the rescue crews in danger. Most notably, there could be trees, things floating that could take someone out."
The high water level is being caused by tropical downpours that happened over the weekend.
"The James River literally flows through Lynchburg, and they had a bullseye of 5-7 inches of rain over a large area, including Buckingham County," says Freiden. "Most of that water makes its way into the James River."
