Where are the Floods?
Areas affected by flooding include Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Major rivers like the Mississippi, Arkansas, Ohio, and Wabash are flooded. Significant flooding is evident in the tributaries of these rivers as well. With such widespread flooding, the question becomes What caused the floods and what can be expected for the future?
Why Did the Rivers Flood?
Torrential rains began to fall over much of the Midwest in a relatively small period of time. Over the 48-hour period beginning March 17, 2008, some areas received over a foot of rain. The ground was saturated from previous rain and, in some cases snow melt. Once the ground becomes saturated, any excess rain can no longer be absorbed. During and shortly after the rain fell, low areas began to flood. The excess rain ran off into streams and rivers. As the streams and rivers began to swell with the excess water, many reached flood stage. An image gallery of the Missouri floods also shows some of the devastation in the area.Strong southerly winds developed ahead of an area of low pressure located over the Southern High Plains and drew moisture up from the Gulf of Mexico. This warm, moist air collided with a frontal boundary that draped across central Texas into central Missouri. The convergence produced thunderstorms and heavy rain from central Texas through Oklahoma and into Kansas and Missouri. The floods can be seen in this MODIS satellite image of the floods.
Blame the Ocean
The ongoing La Niña (cooler-than-normal ocean temperatures across the central Pacific) may have contributed to the intense rain event. La Niña and its more famous counterpart, El Niño, can impact U.S. weather by altering the patterns of the jet stream, especially in the Northern Hemisphere cold season. On average for this time of year, strong to moderate La Niña events are linked to above-normal rainfall from East Texas and northern Louisiana up through Arkansas and the Tennessee and Ohio Valleys.One of the most dangerous aspects of floods, especially in the spring, are the abilities of floods to get worse and worse as time goes on. While many severe weather events are over fairly quickly, a flood can go on and on. Many locations either have or will experience major flooding days after minor flooding begins. Once the ground is saturated and rivers and streams are overloaded, floods can happen over and over with new surges of water as precipitation continues. Some locations in the Midwest have already reached record high water levels. Other areas are waiting to see if more records will be set by the weekend.
Residents in the area are advised to be prepared for imminent flooding.
Get the latest flood statement for your area.
Create a disaster kit (Instructions are for a winter weather kit, but all the directions are virtually the same.)
Keep a weather radio handy
Visit the Red Cross flood pages
Never drive into flood waters
Listen to your local weather forecasts and alerts on television and heed ALL watches and warnings for your area.
