The Ohio River crested at 60.53 feet Sunday at 8:15 p.m. This makes it the 22nd highest river crest on record with the United States Geological Survey. It's our highest river level since the significant flooding we saw in early March 1997. But this did not surpass the 1997 flood level.
So what happens now? Here are a few answers to your questions.
How fast will levels drop?
The river rises slowly and falls slowly, so just as long as it took the river to rise, the same will happen as it falls. We should stay in moderate flood stage through Friday morning. This means we are above 56 feet. Here's what the next few days look like:
USGS River forecast through Friday morning
What should we look out for this week along the river?
You should start to see more debris clinging along the shoreline this week. As the water level drops and the water speed slows down, debris in the river will start piling up in some places. Roads will slowly reopen but may need to be cleared of debris too. It's going to be a slow process.
With rain in the forecast midweek, could we see the river rise again?
It looks like our 1 inch of possible rain over Wednesday and Thursday should not be enough to cause a spike on the river this week. It may hold the water steady for a day, if anything. We'll monitor the latest river forecast through the USGS all week.
- WEATHER: Get the latest forecast
- LIST: Major road closures around the Tri-State
- TRAFFIC: Check real-time road conditions
- PHOTOS: Floodwaters across the Tri-State
- LIST: Which places have emergency declarations, shelters
- READ MORE: Why you should NEVER drive on flooded roads
- FROM THE VAULT: Flood of 1997 was disastrous, deadly
