Roads flooded, rivers rising across Deep South
High waters of the Congaree River pass under the Gervais Street Bridge Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. Heavy rains in the upstate on Thursday have caused moderate river flooding along the Congaree River in South Carolina.[AP Photo/Sean Rayford]
Roads were flooded and rivers were rising across the Deep South on Tuesday after a day of heavy rains that once again filled a Mississippi lake where a dam previously was in danger of failing.
The National Weather Service said minor to moderate flooding was expected from central Mississippi to north Georgia following downpours. The Tennessee River was predicted to crest about 7 feet above flood level at Perryville, Tennessee, on Sunday.
Multiple roads were covered with water or washed out because of rainfall that exceeded 5 inches in spots across central Alabama, and forecasters said totals could reach 6 inches by nightfall.
Schools opened late or closed in parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana because of flash flooding.
In eastern Mississippi, officials in Starkville said the water at Oktibbeha County Lake had once again reached a critical level just weeks after heavy rains caused a mudslide that put the earthen dam in danger of failing.
Pumps had been used to lower the lake level by about 8 feet since mid-January, the Starkville Daily News reported, but the water rose again because of storms.
“I am concerned with the amount of rainfall we are expected to receive this week, we could possibly exceed the level where we were in January,” said a statement by Kristen Campanella, emergency management director in Oktibbeha County.
Isolated tornadoes and winds in excess of 60 mph are possible in some areas of the South after nightfall Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.