Above is the radar image depicting rainfall for the past seven days ending on Sunday morning. The futia colors within the red represents between 10 and 15 inches of rain. Note the heaviest rain was in the White, Blue, Vermillion and Wabash river basins. A large amount of the rain fell on Friday afternoon through Saturday afternoon but, no doubt, the ground in the area and the tributaries have been pretty saturated all spring. The East Fork of the White River crested at Columbus a full foot above the all-time record level set in 1913. At Seymour, it was just an inch below the record level. The water is going to take its time getting through the system as the crest is not expected at Bedford until Wednesday morning. At that point, things may be interesting since rain is expected with a front Monday night through Tuesday. For that reason, the warned counties are also under a flash flood watch for Monday into Monday night.
As of Sunday night, The Flood Warnings for the affected counties do not expire until further notice.
It’s not a good idea if you want to travel. I know one person who tried to drive back from Indianapolis on Sunday and it took 5 hours and that was with I-65 open. Many county roads are closed. Last I checked all of the railroads were above water but there was real fear that the road beds might be compromised by high water. I was wondering about that old covered bridge that is in disrepair next to the state road that goes west from Seymour.
Make note of the fact that all of those rivers do not empty into the Ohio above Louisville but instead they traverse across the state to the Wabash. The Ohio River has been a little high for the past few days but is not expected to get anywhere near flood stage for the foreseeable future.
On This Date In History: In June 1972, warm moist air from the Gulf of Mexico made it all the way to South Dakota. A cold front came down and 15 inches of rain fell on the Black Hills in just 6 hours. Now, the Pactola Dam was built in 1952 and it created flood control and a resevoir that made the region much more habitable. Ten miles away, Rapid City grew to nearly 50,000 and a large residential neighborhood sprung up. Trouble was, the neighborhood was situated in the flood plain. On June 9, 1972 after the torrential rains came, a bunch of debris clogged the spillway at the dam. The dam collapsed and water was sent rushing through the neighborhood and through Rapid City. Some 238 people lost their lives that night. Most of the homeowners had no insurance. Today the dam has been rebuilt. I suppose it was an earthen dam in 1972 as it is today. There’s one big difference. There is no residential community in the flood plain any more. Today it’s a golf course. It’s always amazing how when we look back at historical events that what seems like such an obviously stupid idea today was such a good idea back when it was first proposed. It often seems to take a tragedy to wake people from their slumber and remember one of US Grant’s favorite lines: “Man Proposes and God Disposes.”
Here’s a link to a site about the new and improved dam
