Preparations underway for heavy rain, possible flooding ahead of severe weather
We could see damaging winds, hail, tornadoes, and heavy rain that could also lead to localized flooding.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The Storm Center 7 team of meteorologists continue to monitor the latest timing and severe threats from Wednesday night's storms. Storm Center 7′s Britley Ritz has the latest timing and track LIVE on News Center 7 Daybreak from 4:25 a.m. until 7 a.m.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for the entire region starting tonight at 8 p.m.
As much as six inches of rain may fall between Wednesday and Sunday, according to our Storm Center 7 team of meteorologists.
As previously reported by News Center 7, changes will be made across the Great Miami River to prevent widespread flooding.
The Miami Conservancy District (MCD) is responsible for making sure the Great Miami River does not spill over its banks and cause widespread flooding in riverfront communities like Troy, Dayton, and Miamisburg.
'It's not unprecedented, but it's a heavier, higher rainfall event,' said Mike Ekberg, hydrologist for the Miami Conservancy District.
As part of the flood protection system, the Miami Conservancy District maintains five dams along the Great Miami River.
'The dam will begin to store water, and we'll get a temporary lake behind the dam,' said Ekberg.
We will update this story.
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- Yahoo
Century-old dam under strain as floods increase in US and federal funds dry up
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The Hill
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- The Hill
Federal leaders spar on NWS flood warning response, pose safety review after Texas disaster
KERR COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – In the aftermath of deadly Hill Country flooding, Texas' junior Republican U.S. Senator is defending the National Weather Service, as questions surface over the agency's forecast timing, urgency and communication. 'I think there have been some eager to point at the National Weather Service and say cuts there led to a lack of warning,' Sen. Ted Cruz said during a press event with Gov. Greg Abbott Monday in Kerr County, where dozens died after the Guadalupe River tumbled over its banks July 4. 'I think that's contradicted the facts.' Also on Monday, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged the Commerce Department to investigate NWS vacancies and whether they contributed to the death toll and affected the agency's ability to coordinate with local emergency officials. 'This is a national tragedy which people across the country are mourning,' Schumer wrote to Duane Townsend, the Commerce Department's acting inspector general. 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'We would remove them and get them to higher ground. If we could go back and do it again, obviously, everyone would.' He also warned against 'partisan' finger-pointing at this stage, suggesting a broader public safety review after rescue and recovery has wrapped would eventually be needed to 'make sure that critical roles are maintained.' 'I think it is reasonable overtime to engage in a retrospective and say at every level what could have been done better, because all of us would want to prevent this horrific loss of life,' Cruz said. 'But I think just immediately trying to use it for either side to attack political opponents… that's cynical and not the right approach, particularly at a time when we're dealing with a crisis.' 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That's as many people as the NWS lost in the last 15 years to retirement and attrition, but the agency was able to hire and fill those vacancies immediately, unlike now, Fahy said. When Trump came into office, he instituted a federal hiring freeze through July 15 of this year. NWS can't immediately refill its vacancies, but they have asked for special consideration to get that done, Fahy said. 'We're a tightly knit organization delivering outstanding results for the American public,' said Fahy. 'This comes down to the math. It comes down to budget numbers, and we are short staffed.' Dr. Venkataraman Lakshmi, professor of engineering at the University of Virginia and president of the hydrology section of the American Geophysical Union, also said forecasting the number of feet the Guadalupe would rise near Kerrville would have been nearly impossible. 'Predicting rainfall is more difficult than predicting the stock market,' Lakshmi said. 'It's based on physical equations. It's based on atmospheric dynamics. It's a very complicated mathematical model.' Lakshmi said he had no knowledge of the staffing vacancies at NWS, but, for the past 40 years, the NWS has led worldwide progress on weather forecasting. While the storm was predicted in advance, the location of the Kerr County tragedy was so close to the source of the water it left little reaction time. 'As hydrologists, we are very concerned about lead time, but if you're sitting at the source of the water, it's very difficult,' he said. 'There is, sadly, no answer to the fury of rainfall and the fact that this fell right at the most terrible place.'
