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Union Co. Under a Flood Advisory, Weather Forecast Doesn't Help

A flood advisory is in effect until further notice for Union County.

The sheriff's office says residents in low-lying areas prone to flooding need to be alert until the Mississippi River stage falls to a safe level. All levee roads are closed to public traffic.
Residents in the Wolf Lake and Ware areas should know in the event of a levee breach, the tornado sirens will be activated for three minutes. The county has suspended all normal siren testing for the time being to reduce possible confusion.

Due to the financial impact of the flooding, the Union County Board chair has signed a proclamation declaring Union County in a state of emergency.

For those parts of the region already dealing with major flooding, the immediate weather forecast will not be good news.

The National Weather Service in Paducah is forecasting at least two to four inches of rain across the region over the next seven days.

Meteorologist Sean Poulos says that amount of rain could worsen the flooding situation.
 
"Area rivers could see increased crests or maybe just stay about the same crest, but then just kind of delay the gradual fall of the river."
 
Poulos says even delaying flood crests will be problematic because area levees are already stressed.

He says hopefully the rainfall is over a long enough period to lessen the chances of flash flooding.

The spring season was wetter than normal across most of the area.

In fact, Paducah recorded its wettest month of May on record. It was the fifth wettest in Cape Girardeau.

Poulos says the long-range forecast suggests we won't dry out anytime soon.
 
"The outlook from the Climate Prediction Center does have our area highlighted in an area that has increased odds of experiencing a wetter than normal summer. Certainly, with this next week here, June should be off to a good start to kick off the summer in a wet fashion."

 

As a news producer and news anchor on All Things Considered, Brad provides the listeners with a recap of the day's top local and state news as well as breaking news at any given time. Contact WSIU Radio at 618-453-6101 or email wsiunews@wsiu.org
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