Worthington, Ohio—
After a record-breaking 1.39” of rain (the previous record for today was 0.96” set back in 1971) fell on Tuesday and while much of the afternoon was dry, local rivers and streams continued to rise.
Water levels reached over 10.0’ in the Olentangy River near Worthington, Ohio. The flood stage for this location is 11.0’. Many areas near and along the river may be dealing with flooded yards, but no significant flood is expected, per the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio.
The NWS said that this location has seen an increase in how fast the water levels rise over the past 20 years.
“Increased population in Southern Delaware county will do that and it will cause for a steeper run off for that water to run into the river more quickly,” said Julie Dian-Reed, Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, Ohio.
Dian-Reed said that it takes longer for the bodies of water to return to normal levels after a heavy precipitation event and because of that there might be extended advisories/warnings well after the event ends.
While we’ve been dealing with a lot of saturated grounds and some minor flooding these past couple weeks, Dian-Reed said that this is not that uncommon. She did mention, however, that they see these types of conditions more often in the month of March.
In order to mitigate the amount of flooding in the Olentangy River, Dian-Reed said that they closely monitor these river conditions and work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that operate at the Delaware Lake upstream on when they are going to release or hold back water to mitigate/prevent any flooding.
These methods help, but Dian-Reed said that it is helpful unless you’re seeing a lot of heavy rain downstream of the Delaware Dam then there’s not much they can do.
While there is no significant river flooding expected from this event, it’s a good reminder to be on the lookout for flooded roadways and also remember, “Turn around, don’t drown.”
As of Tuesday night, the Olentangy River near Worthington is under a flood advisory until Wednesday morning.
