Forecasters say that this week, the central U.S. could have historic flash flooding as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit the same places over and over again.
The weather website AccuWeather has warned of a once-in-a-1,000-year flood that could happen from northeastern Arkansas to western Kentucky. The worst-hit places could get as much rain in five days as they do in four months. The rain will sometimes fall in places that could be prone to floods because they have had a lot of rain in the past few months.
Jonathan Porter, chief meteorologist at AccuWeather, said in a statement, “We’re worried about the risk of life-threatening and historic flash flooding that could turn into a major river flooding event.” “Dangerous situations can escalate to life-threatening emergencies in a matter of seconds with a flash flooding threat as serious as this.”
The National Weather Service says that heavy rain will fall from Wednesday night (April 2) through Sunday morning (April 6). This will cause flash floods across the country, especially in the Lower Ohio Valley, the Mid-South, and Arkansas.
The rain is coming from the tropics to the central U.S. on an atmospheric river, which is a long, thin area of the atmosphere that moves heat and water vapor. Between now and the weekend, the flow of water is expected to slow down and stop, which will cause a huge amount of rain to fall in the same few places.
“A big area of high pressure off the coast of the Southeast U.S. will funnel moisture from the Caribbean and Gulf into parts of the central U.S.,” Porter pointed out. “The weather pattern will be like a traffic jam in the sky, with storms and rain happening over the same areas over and over again.” This is a recipe for a lot of floods.”
AccuWeather said that between Wednesday (April 3) and Saturday (April 5), it could rain up to 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) in some places in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Some of these areas have already been hit by deadly floods this year. In Kentucky, at least 24 people died in February because of flooding.
Weather experts think the rain will stop over the weekend, but rivers may still rise into next week. People who live in the affected areas should be ready to leave for higher ground, according to Porter.
“Relentless rainfall will cause problems along creeks, streams, and low-lying flood-prone areas first before evolving into a river flooding problem as all of the water tries to flow downstream,” said Porter. “Be ready to move quickly to higher ground.”
