Potentially Significant Flooding Event Forecast Late This Week

The Tri-State could see its first significant weather event of 2020 later this week, and even though its January, it won't involve snow.

The National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky, which handles forecasting weather for the Tri-State, as well as southern Missouri and parts of both Arkansas and Tennessee, issued a "Hydrologic Outlook" Sunday morning saying the entire area could see between four and six inches of rain Thursday through Saturday thanks to "A stalled out frontal boundary" that "will provide a focus for showers and some thunderstorms with heavy rainfall Thursday, Friday and possibly through Saturday."

The full statement reads as follows:

Hydrologic Outlook
National Weather Service Paducah KY
355 AM CST Sun Jan 5 2020

...Heavy Rainfall and Flooding Concerns are Increasing for Thursday
through Saturday...

A stalled out frontal boundary will provide a focus for showers
and some thunderstorms with heavy rainfall Thursday, Friday and
possibly through Saturday. The 3 to 5 inches of rainfall currently
forecast represents a conservative estimate. The potential exists
for a narrower swath of 6 inches or more somewhere across the four
state region. The heaviest rains are likely Friday into Saturday.

With nearly saturated ground conditions expected at the beginning
of the event, flooding problems are likely to develop rather
quickly. At the very least, flooding of low-lying and poorly
drained areas, as well as low water crossings, can be expected.
Where the heaviest rains occur more significant flooding problems
may develop.

Water levels are already high on the Ohio River and some of its
tributaries, and the additional rainfall could lead to delayed
crests or higher crest levels. In addition, new river flooding
will be possible throughout the area.

Please stay tuned to the latest forecasts of this potentially
significant heavy rainfall and flooding event.

$$

DRS

Of course, weather can be wildly unpredictable, and this outlook could change a number of times between now and Thursday. However, if you or someone you know lives in an area of the Tri-State that is prone to flooding, it wouldn't hurt to start preparing for the worst.

[Source: National Weather Service]