Flood Stage

It has been raining, raining, and raining across Ohio.  In Columbus, it has been raining heavily, and virtually non-stop, for more than a day.

Counties across Ohio are under flood watches and flood warnings.  With the constant rain, the snow melt, and the saturated ground, excess water is pouring into creeks and rivers.  With amazing suddenness, the lazy, picturesque stream that you drive past on your way to work becomes a raging torrent that spills out from its bed.  The widening rivers then spread across the nearby landscape, covering the area with sluggish, slow-moving brown water, and when the waters recede they leave everything thickly coated with smelly brown muck.  The flooding risks are particularly acute for those to the north who live near Lake Erie, where all moving water flows to the Great Lakes basin, and those to the south who live along the many rivers that drain into the Ohio River.  As more and more water flows in, from rain and smaller tributaries, rivers can rise with startling speed, trapping those who are reckless or unwary.

If you want to live by a river in Ohio, you have to be prepared.  Flooding is just part of life during the early spring, although some years are worse than others.