Unfortunately at this point, there’s going to be no avoidance of flooding.  The only question is how deep and for how long it will last.  After the melted snow and ice of this winter saturated the ground, we had another 2.5″+ dumped onto the area.  The only good news is that the temperatures are forecast to drop at or below freezing over the next several evenings.  While this won’t evaporate all the moisture in the area, it will certainly slow the run-off and flooding.  However, we trade the flooding for ice as all this standing water freezes in the roads and on the sidewalks. There is a photo gallery attached to the bottom of this post.
A press release from the City states:
City to monitor high water all night; 3-1-1 hours extended
The City’s Public Works Department and City Utility crews will monitor water levels in its rivers and streams, streets and neighborhoods throughout the night, tonight. A heavy rain has dropped nearly two inches of rain on the City today.
“The Spy Run Creek rose above flood level just after noon today. It’s currently more than a foot and a half above flood level and we will have crews monitoring that creek closely all night long,” said Bob Kennedy, Director of Public Works. “Our stormwater maintenance crews are monitoring the water levels in neighborhoods and are monitoring high water around homes and streets,” added Kennedy.
Rain gauge levels throughout Fort Wayne are rising but City officials believe things will subside through the night.
“The warmer weather that we had last weekend was a big help. The rivers crested and then went back down before this latest rain and snow thaw. That definitely diminishes the impact of today’s rainfall,” said Kennedy.
Residents are noticing a lot of street surface and yard water standing, because the ground has not thawed enough from recent cold temperatures. When the rain stops this evening officials believe the water will subside.
To assist citizens, Fort Wayne will keep the 311 Call Center open through at least 10 pm. At that time a decision will be made as to weather or not to extend the call center hours. If citizens have property damage or are in danger of having property damage they should call 3-1-1.
Wow! Image 8 is amazing with the yellow of the willow popping out against all the brown and grey of the day.
Yes! I couldn’t believe it. I started shooting right before the sun came out. When the clouds finally moved enough to get the full sunlight, it was amazing. I really loved the colors. One of the things that I couldn’t bring out in the photo was the Science Central smokestacks. They really were glistening and almost glowing in the light and really stood out against the dark clouds. Thanks, Alec!