High Water EverywhereMonday's weather has many area residents saying, "Rain, rain go away."
On average, the Kosciusko County area received 5 to 6 inches of rain Monday, with many areas receiving more. According to Mike Sabones, meteorologist in charge, the National Weather Service Office in North Webster received more than 7 inches of rain, while one area southeast of Milford recorded 9.9 inches of rain.Sabones said the skies should stay dry today, but another system is expected to come through and bring more rain Wednesday night and into Thursday. However, the rains expected in the next couple of days are not expected to bring as much rain as Monday.
When asked if Monday's rainfall was a record, Sabones said there are not enough records to accurately say that, "but I suspect it would be. It was a pretty significant rainfall. ... It's got to rank up there."
Sabones, who has been at the North Webster office since 1997, said he does not remember the Kosciusko County area receiving this much rain since he has been here.
Sabones said that nearly every summer some area in Indiana receives a "big rain," totaling up to 7 inches or more; however, it does not usually happen in the same area every year.
While the rains Wednesday and Thursday are not expected to be as heavy as Monday, flooding may still be a problem.
"Everything is saturated now, so even if there is a less significant amount of rain, it could cause (flooding) problems like yesterday," Sabones said.
And speaking of flooding, there are plenty of area roads that are closed or flooded.
Eleven area roads currently are closed due to high water and 30 more are listed as flooded in the county.
Chad Hill, public information officer for the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department, said the best advice he could give to people is, "Be cautious."
"Be careful, particularly on the back roads," Hill said. "Do not drive through flooded areas. With this much rain, there are many places that are flooded that have never flooded before. Be especially careful when driving at night and in the early morning hours when it is dark."
Sabones also cautioned people not to go through areas that are flooded.
"If you come across a flooded roadway, do not drive through it," Sabones said. "In some cases where roads are flooded, it has washed away. It does not take much to make a car buoyant, and once that happens, you have no control over the vehicle.
"It happens every time we have flooding, but people still try to drive through water and get in trouble."
Sabones also said that people who live in areas that tend to flood should keep an eye on water in those areas.
There currently are three places in the county where people can fill sandbags. Those who need sandbags should plan to take their own shovels to fill the bags. Sand and sand bags are available at the Chapman Lake boat ramp, the county highway department and at 206 W. Sycamore St., Silver Lake, behind Metzger Trucking.
