(Danville, Va.) — The National Weather Service has issued a river flood warning for Danville in anticipation the Dan River will flood due to tropical depression Florence. The warning is in effect through Thursday night.

Blacksburg meteorologist Robert Beasley says the Dan River is expected to rise above flood stage of 17 feet later today. The river remained below flood stage overnight but is rising rapidly this morning.

If current projections hold, the Dan River will reach moderate flood stage – 21 feet – Tuesday morning before cresting at major flood stage later in the day. Beasley says we could see river levels at or near the high-water mark of 28.65 feet set during Hurricane Fran in 1996.

Even if that doesn’t happen, he cautions that we will likely see moderate flooding along the Dan River, noting that “there is a lot of water that is going to be routed in that direction.”