2016 Flood (Part Deux) Update

[DanP]

From Peter Nimrod of MS Levee Board

March 10, 2016

Greenville Flash Flood - It rained 4" Tuesday night, 6" last night, and 2" this morning in the Greenville, MS Area - houses are flooded all over Greenville. Many houses are within a few inches of being flooded.
The 48 hour rainfall was 12". The 100-year flood for our area is 11" for a 48 hour event.
Back in 2008 hundreds of homes in Greenville were flooded when on September 2-3, 2008 Hurricane Gustav dumped 10.7" of rain over a 48 hour period in the Greenville Area.
The Clarksdale, MS Area received 14” of rainfall over the past 48 hours.
Shreveport & Monroe, LA have had over 18" of rainfall the past several days.
Lake Village, AR has a 6,000 cfs pumping plant to manage the water level in Lake Chicot but the pump could not keep up and Lake Chicot rose 3' overnight.
The Steele Bayou Structure gates are currently closed – but are predicted to open as soon as the interior waters rise above the Mississippi River levels. The Corps of Engineers calculates that the Yazoo Backwater will get to approximately 92’.

Current MS River Gage Readings (6pm):
Arkansas City 33.3’
Greenville 44.7’
Vicksburg 40.1’

NWS Predicted Crests:
Arkansas City 34’ on Sunday, March 13th
Greenville 46’ on Sunday, March 13th
Vicksburg 43’ on Monday, March 14th

The River is expected to hang around these crest levels for several weeks – therefore we will have to keep an eye on future weather patterns to see if the River will jump any higher.
Please keep those who have been flooded – or are close to being flooded in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks,

Peter Nimrod
Chief Engineer
MS Levee Board
(662)334-4813

[mossyisland]

Wow!

[SB]

thanks for posting

[bustercat64]

I have been in Cleveland for 26 years and I have never seen anything like yesterday. I heard on the news coming into work this morning that North MS could receive another 10 to 12 inches of rain over the next 48 hours. I am praying that is not the case, I don't see where the water can go.

[hntrpat1]

More rain expected this week. Hurry up on that Ark!

[DanP]

March 14, 2016

We have reports of serious rainfall all over the MS Delta over the past 6 days:
17” in Desota County
16” in Clarksdale, MS
15” in Cleveland, MS
14.5” in Greenville, MS

INTERIOR FLOODING:
The Big Sunflower River has set new records and has crested at Lombardy & Clarksdale. It is forecasting a new record at Sunflower, MS (currently 28' with a 28.5 forecast - 1991 was 28.1' & 1973 was 28.4').
The Bogue Phalia at Leland, MS (currently 29.3') has broken the 1991 record of 28.8' and is predicted to approach 30'.
The Steele Bayou Structure gates are still closed – but are predicted to open in the next few days as soon as the interior waters rise above the Mississippi River levels. The Corps of Engineers calculates that the Yazoo Backwater will get to approximately 93’.

MS RIVER – no significant changes:

Current MS River Gage Readings (11am):
Arkansas City 34.6’ cresting
Greenville 46.4’ cresting
Vicksburg 42.5’

NWS Predicted Crests:
Arkansas City 34.6’ today
Greenville 46.4’ today
Vicksburg 42.9’ on Tuesday, March 15th

The River is expected to hang around these crest levels for several weeks – therefore we will have to keep an eye on future weather patterns to see if the River will jump any higher.
Please keep those who have been flooded – or are close to being flooded in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks,

Peter Nimrod
Chief Engineer
MS Levee Board
(662)334-4813

[DanP]

March 17, 2016

GOOD NEWS!
We haven’t had any significant rainfall in the past several days and the 7 day rainfall forecast looks great as well – only 0.5” in the Mississippi Delta and only 0.5” across most of the Mississippi River Valley.

INTERIOR FLOODING:
The Big Sunflower River system is cresting around Leland (Hwy 82) area and the Yazoo River system is cresting in the Belzoni & Yazoo City areas.
The Steele Bayou Structure gates opened yesterday (Wednesday) at 7am. The Corps of Engineers has lowered its Yazoo Backwater forecast from 93’ down to 92’.

MS RIVER – no significant changes:

Current MS River Gage Readings (4pm):
Arkansas City 34.3’ down 0.2’ in past 24 hours
Greenville 46.2’ down 0.1’ in past 24 hours
Vicksburg 43.1’ same as 24 hours ago

The River is expected to only drop 1.5’ in the next 10 days – therefore we will have to keep an eye on future weather patterns to see if the River will jump any higher.
Please keep those who have been flooded in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks,

Peter Nimrod
Chief Engineer
MS Levee Board
(662)334-4813