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Almost 5 inches of rain has fallen in the area since early Monday morning, and the wet weather isn’t over yet.
Between the melted snow and the precipitation, some local roads have flooded and some local schools have closed.
National Weather Service meteorologist Chris Roller said the rain started in the Goshen area at about 3 a.m. Monday and continued until 7 or 8 a.m. today. During that time, he said 4.8 inches of rain had fallen.
“At South Bend, we had record rainfall amounts set Tuesday and Monday. It’s certainly record rainfall up there,” Roller said.
As the system moved east from South Bend, he said rainfall totals decreased. Fort Wayne generally had 2 to 3 inches of rain.
While Fort Wayne didn’t have any rainfall records broken, he said it had a high temperature record broken on Tuesday when it reached 70 degrees, breaking the 1930 record of 67 degrees.
The next chance of rainfall in the area is tonight, but Roller said that should total less than a tenth of an inch.
Thursday into Friday, south of U.S. 20 including Warsaw, he said there’s a chance for another quarter inch of rain. There’s also potential for rain on Saturday.
On Sunday, 2 inches of snow was still on the ground, which was already saturated. When the last of the snow melted, the ground was already too soaked to absorb it.
Sandbags
Because of recent record rains and melting snow, surface water levels are expected to rise over the next 48 hours to near record crests, according to a news release from Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer. In anticipation of that, those in flood prone areas are advised to take appropriate action.
The Warsaw Street Department has a supply of sandbags on pallets that can be delivered to city residents on a first-come, first-served basis. After that, crews with volunteer assistance will be filling bags to meet demand.
To request bags and to volunteer to fill bags, call the street department at 574-372-9561.
The release urges people not drive through flooded areas and to seek alternate shelter if flood waters threaten their home.
For those outside of the corporate limits of Warsaw, Kosciusko County has sand and bags outside of the fence of the Kosciusko County Highway Department. Residents should bring shovels and friends to fill bags.
The county highway department is at 2936 E. Old 30, Warsaw.
Emergency Management Director Ed Rock said that even though the rain had stopped this morning, all of the water standing in fields, for the most part, will make its way to the ditches and creeks then to rivers and lakes.
“All of that water has to go somewhere,” he said. “The water levels are going to rise.”
With more rain in the forecast, Rock said that’s going to aggravate the situation.
If a person’s property has a history of flooding, or if it’s already close to their property, Rock suggested they start as soon as possible in getting sandbags around their property and moving their stuff to higher levels.
As a result of the freezing and thawing over the winter months, roads are becoming marked with potholes. Rock said that’s another good reason people shouldn’t drive through standing water on roads.
“Because the road could be disintegrated and it may not be under there,” he said, adding that if you can’t see the road for the standing water, don’t drive through it.
Roads Closed
Kosciusko County Central Dispatch provided a list of roads closed this morning from the Kosciusko County Highway Department.
The list includes:
• CR 550N from 75E to 100E
• CR 1200S from 300E to 400E
• CR 550S from Ind. 15 to Kinsey Road
• Woodland Lane/Lakeshore Drive West from Lakeshore Drive South to Lakeshore Drive South
• Eastshore Drive East from Maple Grove Lane to West Channel Road
• CR 300E from 600S to 700S
• CR 1200S from Ind. 15 to Peru Road
• CR 400N from 850W to 950W
• CR 350N from Ind. 19 to CR 950W
• CR 950W from 400N to U.S. 30
• CR 800S from Ind. 19 to 1000W
• CR 700S from 825W to 1000W
• CR 1200W from Ind. 25 to 500S
• CR 1000W from 700S to 800S
• CR 950W from Hepton Road to 1350N
• CR 350S from Ind. 15 to CR 25W
• CR 1000W from Hepton Road to 1000N
