River flooding remains forecast, even though overnight rain stayed south

Spy Run Creek backs up against the State Blvd. bridge in northern Fort Wayne at 4 p.m., April 3, 2014. (W9LW photo)

See an update to this post.

Heavy rain forecast overnight remained in southern parts of Indiana, which eased some flooding concerns in northeastern Indiana and northwestern Ohio. But although the potential for heavy rainfall in the area had diminished by early morning, meteorologists indicated that run-off from yesterday’s heavy rainfall will cause river flooding today. Flood warnings therefore remain in effect for many rivers in the area.

The worst problem continues to be in the Huntington area. As of 10:44 p.m. (the most recent NWS statements at the time of this writing), major flooding was forecast along the Little River. The river was forecast to rise to only 0.1 foot below the level at which extensive inundation and damage occurs, many primary roads and bridges close and many evacuations occur.

In Fort Wayne, moderate flooding was forecast along the St. Mary’s River, which was forecast to rise to six inches below the level at which extensive evacuations become necessary and primary roads and bridges are closed. Minor flooding was forecast along the Maumee and St. Joe Rivers. The Maumee was forecast to rise within 0.2 feet of the flood experienced Feb. 8, 2008. The St. Joe was forecast to rise as high as it did May 27, 2011.

Here is a link to the latest updates from the NWS on river flooding. Here is a link to an interactive map on which you can see the latest river gauge readings.

The National Weather Service is requesting reports of flooding, including roads blocked by high water. You can make the reports on Twitter by including the hash tag #nwsiwx (include a photo, when possible) or follow this link to fill out a Web form.

Although river flooding remained forecast, At 3:30 a.m. EDT, the northern Indiana National Weather Service office allowed an areal flood warning for urban areas and small streams to expire for the following counties: Allen (Ind. and Ohio), southeastern Defiance, Paulding, Van Wert, Henry, Putnam, Blackford, Jay, Grant, southeastern Cass, Wells, Adams, southern Miami, southern Huntington, southern Wabash and Allen.

At 3:45 a.m., the NWS canceled the areal flood watch that had been in effect for the following Ohio counties: Fulton and Williams and the following Indiana counties: De Kalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, Lagrange, Noble, Pulaski, Steuben and White.

At 6:46 a.m., the NWS canceled the remainder of its areal flood watch, which included the following Ohio counties: Allen, Defiance, Henry, Paulding, Putnam and Van Wert and the following Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, Blackford, Cass, Grant, Huntington, Jay, Miami, Wabash, Wells and Whitley.