CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) — Even as flash flooding is taking place Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening, forecasts show large rivers reacting, rising and in some instances, flooding for a few days.
The runoff from smaller stem streams and creeks will flow into the larger rivers. Those rivers take time to react and also take more time to have water levels go down.
The Ohio River levels will rise mainly on Monday and could take as many as 2 to 3 days to drop below the flood stage depending on location. Traditionally, once the Ohio River nears the flood stage, backwater areas fill up with water so it is possible to see flooding issues even miles away from the river itself.
Other rivers will be running high such as the Guyandotte which is forecasted to rise from 18 to 32 feet by Monday at Branchland, West Virginia and crest about 2 to 3 feet above the flood stage late Monday.
The Little Sandy River at Grayson, Kentucky, was above 23 feet and will rise to about 25-26 feet until late Sunday night which is 5-6 feet above flood stage.
All large rivers will run high even if they do not reach flood stages. The current will be strong in all of these areas so it is very important that nobody be near slick riverbanks where they could accidentally fall in.
Get our StormTracker 13 app for free right here. In the app enable all alerts in the Saf-T-Net Alert section… enable location services for the app on your phone. Also: don’t wait for a flash flood warning to take action if water is rising near you… just get to high ground and don’t drive into any area where water covers the road. Below is a running update of lower resolution output of our Predictor model. Please also monitor the VIPIR Real Time radar page any time you wish right here.
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