NWS Deputy Director - Prepare: Spring Flooding This Year Could Be Worse Than 2011, 1993

[hatrack]

Major flooding now occurring in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri and other Midwestern states is a preview of an all-too-wet and dangerous spring, said Mary Erickson, deputy director of the National Weather Service. "In fact, we expect the flooding to get worse and more widespread," she said.

This year's flooding "could be worse than anything we've seen in recent years, even worse than the historic floods of 1993 and 2011," she said. Those floods caused billions of dollars in damage, and officials said this year's damage in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota has already passed the billion-dollar mark.

Forecasters said the biggest risks include all three Mississippi River basins, the Red River of the North, the Great Lakes, plus the basins of the eastern Missouri River, lower Ohio River, lower Cumberland River and the Tennessee River.

EDIT

Several factors will likely combine to create a pulse of flooding that will eventually head south along the Mississippi: above average rainfall this winter -- including 10-15 inches earlier this year in a drenching along the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys; the third-wettest year in U.S. history; and rapidly melting snow in the Upper Midwest. Extra rain will take more farm runoff down the Mississippi, which will likely lead to more oxygen-starved areas in the Gulf of Mexico and likely make the summer dead zone larger than normal, said Edward Clark, director of NOAA's National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

EDIT

https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2019/mar/22/experts-most-of-u-s-in-for-more-floods-/

[sagesnow]

1. The gas pumps at the new Love's Station near the intersection of I-29 and Highway 34

are 6 feet under water. 600 to 800 hogs were drowned here in Mills County. The entire town of Pacific Junction is under water and displaced families are camping out or scrambling to find food clothing and shelter. The water treatment plant has been submerged so bottled water is being passed out to everyone in town and we have been advised to boil water if you have to use it from the tap. We have been told not to use any more water than is absolutely necessary. Interstate 29 north and south is submerged and will be closed for possibly the next month. The closure is causing interstate traffic to be routed through town on the narrowest 2 lane road in the US. Imagine interstate traffic running right in front of your door in town.
No one in this Red county is talking about Global Climate change though, it's like the proverbial elephant in the country. This spring, a very warm Pacific Ocean caused a Polar Vortex to sweep down and put the Midwest in a deep freeze and then heavy spring rains came and flooded the land. Looking out over the watery plain from a high vantage point, I wonder when we will accept that climate change is real.