Flooding, debris and garbage gather on the bridge near Smith Park on the Roanoke River Greenway stops people from crossing, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2018 in Roanoke, Va. Steady rains from the remnants of Florence fell across much of the area in the morning and afternoon. (Heather Rosseau/The Roanoke Times via AP)

MARTINS FERRY — Forecasters and emergency managers say the effects will be minimal when the remnants of what was Hurricane Florence hit here today.

Officials have been keeping an eye on the storm for more than a week. Last weekend, people in the Upper Ohio Valley braced themselves as the remnants of what had been Tropical Storm Gordon dumped several inches of rain here.

The Ohio River rose to above flood stage early last week, although residents did not see as much flooding as forecasters had originally thought they would.

Lee Hendrix, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh, said Sunday there is a 90 percent chance of rain today when the remnants of Florence pass over the Wheeling area. Rain is expected to fall before noon and there’s a chance of a thunderstorm after noon. In total, the valley is supposed to get 1 to 2 inches of rain from the storm that caused significant damage and double-digit fatalities in the Carolinas.

“For this area, it will not be as bad as it was last week,” Hendrix said.

“Last week, we saw a rise in creeks and rivers, and at this point we are still keeping an eye on them.

“As of right now, there are not any flash flood warnings for the area.”

Officials here said they were relieved that the flooding they saw with Gordon will not be repeated with Florence.

“The creeks and rivers are down now,” said Lou Vargo, Wheeling-Ohio County Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director. “We have had several briefings so we can stay prepared, though.”

Still, Vargo said, he and other emergency officials will be watching closely and will be prepared as they continue to clean up after last week’s floods.

“As far as the cleanup went, (Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack) got back into operation pretty quickly,” he said. “We had to clear some roads and had to pump a few basements.”

Much like Vargo, Tom Hart, Marshall County Emergency Management Director, said he does not think people in the valley will have anything to worry about when Florence dumps what’s left of its rain here. However, he said, his department has had meetings every day to prepare for the possibility that severe flooding could occur. He said the agency always is concerned when there is heavy rainfall in a short amount of time.

“We will be keeping an eye on things,” Hart said. “Residents should take the right precautions and be careful. Last week, we had 6 inches of rainfall. We had to clean up some debris from the roads and yards. Our biggest clean-up was probably at the riverfront in Moundsville and Boggs Run Road in Benwood.”

Meanwhile, Hendrix said the rain associated with Florence will move out of the area quickly. The forecaster said there is chance of showers early morning Tuesday. After that, it will be sunny the rest of the day.

The next rain isn’t expected to fall until Friday, when there is a 30-50 percent chance of showers throughout the day, Hendrix said.