OTTAWA — The Blanchard River will crest at 22 feet today with a light system of rainfall expected next week.
The last time the river crested was on March 15 at 14 feet, according to Mark Steinwedel, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Cresting is the maximum stage the river is forecast to reach, Steinwedel explained.
Friday’s cresting report was 20.86 feet as of 10 a.m., and it is expected to crest at 8 a.m. today. He said that is below minor flood stage, so it is not predicted to flood.
“Usually March and April are active rainfall months and this is the normal pattern we would expect,” Steinwedel said.
Brian Siefker, Putnam County sheriff, said he does not expect any road closures to occur. He did say when there are road closures due to flooding the village and county work well to alert drivers.
“I don’t anticipate any road closures, but we will have to see how high the water gets,” Siefker said. Siefker reminded people to not drive through high water.
Mike Klear, Putnam County Office of Public Safety director, said his office is monitoring the river levels.
“At this time the Blanchard River is at the action level and 23 feet is the minor level,” Klear said.
He advised people if they see water to turn around.
“They won’t know if the road is giving away below the water. Sometimes in these situations when the roads are covered there could be unexpected washouts or sinkholes,” Klear said.
Lima received 1.37 inches of rainfall from Thursday into Friday.
No rainfall is expected today in Ottawa with dry, windy and colder temperatures. The high temperature will be a high of 39 and low of 2. Sunday will be a high of 44 and a low of 2.
“There is a 50% chance of light rain and snow Sunday night and will be too warm to accumulate,” Steinwedel said.
Monday should be dry in Ottawa with a 60% chance of a half inch of rain Tuesday night into Wednesday. There also are low chances of rainfall the end of next week.
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