Flooded Roads The Big Travel Issue This Morning – More Freezing Rain Possible

It’s another cold, rainy start to the day, with a little bit of freezing rain mixing in with some light rain west of I-65 in North Alabama and across southern middle Tennessee. Below is a look at 7:20 radar and 7:00 am temperatures. For the latest on school delays click here: School Delays.

Expect the potential for a few more light patches of freezing rain this morning, before a changeover to all rain likely later this morning as all temperatures warm above freezing. Due to the fact that freezing rain/sleet will remain a possibility as temperatures cool this evening and tonight, the National Weather Service in Huntsville has extended the Winter Weather Advisory for; Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin, Lawrence, Limestone, Lincoln (TN) and Moore (TN) until 6:00 am Wednesday morning. Like yesterday, mainly light accumulations on elevated and metallic surfaces (trees, power lines, cars…etc.) are expected.  Widespread disruptive travel is not anticipated, but there could be a few icy patches, especially on bridges and overpasses, so take it slow. The Winter Weather Advisory for; Cullman, Madison, Morgan and Franklin (TN) counties will be allowed to expire at 9:00 am this morning.

High temperatures today will only warm into the upper 30s and low to mid 40s at best, with a continued chance for light to moderate rain.  Some patches of freezing rain/sleet may mix in with the some of the rain tonight with temperatures close to freezing, especially in Northwest Alabama and southern middle Tennessee.  Precipitation will gradually taper off Wednesday, before an upper level low could potential bring more rain and possibly some wet snow Thursday. Get ready for an even bigger blast of cold air next week!

Travel:
There have been a few slick spots reported this morning west of I-65, but the main travel issue seems to be flooding roads in Northeast Alabama.  Multiple roads have reported flooding in Jackson County including; County Road 354, County Road 177, County Road 151 (bridge is under water) and County Road 31.  There are other roads covered in water in Jackson County, so please use extreme caution.

According to authorities in DeKalb County, yesterday’s flooding has subsided some across the county, but likely the creeks and streams are still swollen due to continued waves of rain and runoff. Also Cullman County EMA reported widespread flooding of low-lying roads yesterday, which may have subsided some overnight, but there likely could still be issues this morning…so please take it slow and never drive across a flooded road, find an alternate route.

Flooding Watches & Warnings:
Due to the rainfall totals of three inches or more in many areas, especially east of I-65 and south of the Tennessee River over the past couple days, flooding remains a big concern as creeks, streams and rivers remain swollen and continue to rise due to excessive runoff and persistent rain. Below is a list of the current Watches and Warnings across the area:

Flood Warning: For Colbert and Lauderdale counties until further notice for the Tennessee River at Florence. Statement below from NWS-Huntsville:

MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST...RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE
  TO RISE TO NEAR 18.5 FEET BY THURSDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL RISES ARE
  POSSIBLE THEREAFTER.
* IMPACT...AT 18.0 FEET...FLOODING OF MCFARLAND PARK BEGINS.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 18.3 FEET
  ON SEP 7 2011.

Flood Warning: For Lawrence County until Wednesday afternoon for Big Nance Creek at Courtland. Statement below from NWS-Huntsville:

MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST...RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AND
  CREST NEAR 14.0 FEET BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW
  FLOOD STAGE BY LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING.
* IMPACT...AT 14.0 FEET...LOWLAND FLOODING BEGINS ON THE LEFT BANK OF
  THE RIVER.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 14.7 FEET
  ON NOV 1 2009.

Flood Warning: For Madison County until Wednesday afternoon for the Flint River at Brownsboro. Statement below from NWS-Huntsville:

MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST...RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE AND CREST NEAR 17.0 FEET AFTER MIDNIGHT
  TONIGHT. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW FLOOD STAGE BY WEDNESDAY MORNING.
* IMPACT...AT 17.0 FEET...WATER FLOODS A LARGE FIELD ON THE UPSTREAM
  LEFT BANK AND IS FLOODING LARGE PORTIONS OF THE DOWNSTREAM LEFT
  BANK.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 17.4 FEET
  ON APR 5 2011.

Flood Warning: For Marshall and Madison counties until Friday evening for the Paint Rock River near Woodville. Statement below from NWS-Huntsville:

MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST...RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY THIS MORNING AND CREST NEAR
  20.0 FEET BY EARLY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THE RIVER WILL FALL BELOW
  FLOOD STAGE BY LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
* IMPACT...AT 20.0 FEET...PORTIONS OF ALABAMA STATE HIGHWAY 65 ARE
  CLOSED DUE TO HIGH WATER.
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 19.8 FEET
  ON DEC 10 2009.

Flood Warning: For Madison, Marshall and Morgan counties from Wednesday evening until further notice for the Tennessee River at Whitesburg. Statement below from NWS-Huntsville:

MINOR FLOODING IS FORECAST.
* FORECAST...RISE ABOVE FLOOD STAGE BY EARLY TOMORROW EVENING AND
  CREST NEAR 17.4 FEET BY THURSDAY MORNING. THE RIVER IS THEN
  FORECAST TO BEGIN TO FALL...BUT IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE FLOOD
  STAGE UNTIL AT LEAST FRIDAY MORNING. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL MAY CAUSE
  IT TO REMAIN IN FLOOD FOR A LONGER AMOUNT OF TIME.
* IMPACT...AT 17.0 FEET...LOWLAND FLOODING BEGINS.  SOME ACCESS ROADS
  IN THE AREA BECOME FLOODED. WATER BACKED INTO LONG POND SLOUGH
  BEGINS TO APPROACH ROADS ON THE MORGAN COUNTY SIDE OF THE RIVER..
* FLOOD HISTORY...THIS CREST COMPARES TO A PREVIOUS CREST OF 16.6 FEET
  ON FEB 8 2004.

Areal Flood Warning:  For southeastern DeKalb County, along I-59 until 3:45 pm Tuesday. Statement from NWS-Huntsville:

 AT 812 AM CST...EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REPORTED FLOODING ALONG BIG
  WILLS CREEK IN SOUTHEASTERN DEKALB COUNTY. THE LATEST READING AT
  THE GAGE SITE IN FORT PAYNE WAS 12.15 FEET AND FALLING. WITH
  ADDITIONAL RAINFALL EXPECTED IN DEKALB COUNTY TODAY...BIG WILLS
  CREEK MAY RISE AGAIN AND CAUSE FLOODING CONCERNS THROUGH AT LEAST
  TUESDAY EVENING...IF NOT LONGER.

Flood Watch: Continues for; Madison, Morgan, Jackson, DeKalb, Cullman, Marshall and Franklin (TN) until Wednesday morning. Statement below from NWS-Huntsville:

ADDITIONAL RAINFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES OVER HEAVILY SATURATED SOIL
  ACROSS NORTHEAST ALABAMA AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE.

* RUNOFF FROM THE RAINFALL WILL PRODUCE RISES IN MANY OF THE
  STREAMS AND RIVERS ACROSS NORTHEAST ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN
  MIDDLE TENNESSEE. URBAN FLASH FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE DUE TO
  HEAVY RAINFALL AND A HIGH AMOUNT OF RUNOFF CAUSING ROADWAYS TO
  BE COVERED WITH WATER.

- Jennifer Watson

Twitter: @JWatson_Wx

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