Hear NWS Meteorologist Mike Kistner discuss flooding concerns in W.Va. by clicking above.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Although some small streams and creaks remain out of their banks, the concern of weather forecasters in West Virginia over the next 24 hours is the Ohio River.
Small streams and some rural roadways are flooded, but Meteorologist Mike Kistner at the National Weather Service in Charleston indicated those waters would continue to recede Saturday afternoon and evening. As they go down, the Ohio goes up.
“Currently we are seeing flooding across the Ohio said Kistner. “Moderate flooding is causing some issues. So people who live along the Ohio River need to be aware and keep an eye on the forecast to see how high its expected to go.”
The crest on the Ohio River is expected to start in the far north later today and stretch into Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon for towns along the lower Ohio River in West Virginia.
Kistner cautioned they expected more rain for West Virginia Saturday afternoon, but it was in an area that might not cause as many problems.
“We are expecting another 3/4’s to possibly an inch of rain across southern portions of the state,” said Kistner. “Those portions like McDowell County, Wyoming County, and Raleigh County didn’t get as much rain on Friday and could possibly take a little more rain than other parts of the state.”
Kistner cautioned that any additional rain in much of the state however would have the potential for another creek rise with the ground saturated.
A State of Emergency remains in effect. Governor Jim Justice issued the declaration on Friday night in all 55 West Virginia counties. The declaration activates additional assets to respond more rapidly to areas of in trouble. The declaration also reduces normal red tape in state purchasing to insure access to adequate resources. The declaration also triggered a warning about price gouging from the office of the Attorney General Saturday morning.