The multi-day flood emergency has entered a new phase, with the National Weather Service recording 56 active flood and flash flood alerts across 13 states as of Saturday — up from 50 alerts in 12 states 24 hours earlier, and a further geographic push toward the Gulf Coast and Deep South.
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas were among states with new or expanding warnings, extending a flooding footprint that already spanned Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, Alaska, and Washington. Oklahoma, which drove headlines Friday after warnings were issued by the National Weather Service in Tulsa, was no longer in the active alert zone.
The most consequential development overnight came in Mississippi, where the National Weather Service upgraded flooding on the East Hobolochitto Creek near Caesar — in Pearl River County — from minor to moderate severity. Moderate flooding is ongoing and forecast to continue on that waterway.
Ohio remained the most densely saturated state, with active warnings covering at least a dozen counties: Franklin, Licking, Clark, Fairfield, Ross, Hocking, Pike, Scioto, Greene, Warren, Monroe, and Noble. The National Weather Service in Wilmington issued a flood warning for the Little Miami River at Spring Valley, forecasting minor flooding from Saturday morning through Sunday evening. At 11.0 feet, the river is expected to affect sections of Middletown Road, Waynesville Road, and Corwin Road in Warren and Greene counties — both within the greater Cincinnati weather corridor.
Doppler radar data from the National Weather Service shows 4 to 8 inches of rain have already fallen across portions of the warned Ohio counties, with rainfall rates reaching up to 1 inch per hour. An additional inch remains possible.
In Louisiana, flash flood warnings were active across Franklin, Madison, Morehouse, and Richland parishes in the north-central part of the state, with Doppler-indicated thunderstorms producing heavy rain tracking eastward. Residents in and around the Columbus weather region and across the Gulf South should monitor the National Weather Service for rapidly changing conditions through the weekend.
The National Weather Service continues to urge: turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Overnight hours carry heightened risk, when flood conditions are harder to see and react to.