If you’re looking at all the floodwater we’ve dealt with just this month and you’re thinking it has been an extremely wet year to date, you would be correct.
And if you’re thinking this is one of the wettest beginnings to a calendar year in local history, you would be correct as well. National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Wolters says 2019 is now approaching 1973 for record wetness at Emporia.
This coincides with a 16.15-inch total just in May for the KVOE studios — and over 21 inches of rain since April 29.
The rain, including up to half-an-inch late Sunday night and early Monday, has caused some headaches for nearby communities that are battling their third round of flooding over the past five weeks. Neosho Rapids maintenance specialist Bill Smth says floodwaters are starting to move towards a sewer lift station and are covering part of an old highway near the Flint Hills Wildlife Refuge.
In LeRoy, one of two Coffey County towns with at least some floodwaters impacting the community, Road Supervisor Aaron Copeland says there isn’t a widespread impact on residents in terms of flooded housing, but there is when it comes to travel. Copeland says it has taken some folks around 30 minutes to go a total of three miles because flooding has limited access to the town.
Reports from Hartford and Fall River are currently pending.
The rain chances continue as final preparations are ongoing for the Dirty Kanza gravel-grinding showcase this weekend. Operations supervisor LeLan Dains tells KVOE News with the new course they have planned for this year they are highly optimistic flooding will not be a major concern once riders have made it out of Emporia.
Dains adds they will continue to observe the conditions and will make adjustments if they are needed. Organizers plan to meet with city and county officials this week to further gauge the conditions.
According to Dains they will not make any decision until closer to race day just in case the changes are not needed.
For four-wheel vehicles, road closure lists have stayed pretty uniform since Friday:
*Kansas Highway 99 remains closed until further notice from Emporia’s south city limits to Road 130. Access to Old Highway 99 bridge and All Veterans Memorial is now closed until K-99 reopens, and Commercial Street is closed to thru traffic from Logan Avenue to Soden’s Grove until further notice. The David Traylor Zoo remains open, but access is on the east side of the facility by using Logan Avenue and South Exchange.
Other road closures:
*2100-2200 blocks Rd 40
*170 between Y & Z
*Road 250 between Roads D & F
*Road H between Roads 130 & 140
*300 block X
*300, 400 and 500 blocks Y
Chase County
*Numerous county roads
Coffey County
*Kansas Highway 58 from Oxen to Planter east of US Highway 75.
Greenwood County
*Numerous county roads
Most river gauges remain in flood through the KVOE listening area.
The Cottonwood is in flood from Emporia west to Cottonwood Falls.
*At Emporia, the river is at 24.9 feet, above flood stage of 20 feet. The river may not drop below flood stage until late Thursday.
*At Plymouth, the river is currently at 32.23 feet, above flood stage is 32 feet.
*At Cottonwood Falls, the river has dropped below flood stage and is currently sitting at 8.1 feet.
The Neosho is also in flood from Neosho Rapids southeast to LeRoy.
*At Emporia, the river is at 20.12 feet, above flood stage of 19. The river could drop slowly from its current level and go below flood stage Monday evening.
*At Neosho Rapids, the river is at 25.89 feet above flood stage of 22 feet. Current projections have the river cresting at 27.5 feet Monday. The river may drop below flood stage the upcoming weekend.
*At Burlington, the river is at 32.21 feet, above the flood stage of 27, and may hold steady at that mark for days.
*At LeRoy, the river was last observed at 28.2 feet, above flood stage of 23 feet. The river may hold steady through the upcoming weekend.
For lakes, flooding continues downstream of John Redmond Reservoir through Burlington and LeRoy. The Army Corps of Engineers increased the water flow out of John Redmond Reservoir and down the Neosho River from over 29,000 cubic feet per second to around 35,000 before dropping that amount down to around 32,000 cfs. Authorities are still encouraging residents in flood-prone areas in Burlington and LeRoy to evacuate.
In Osage County, the Army Corps of Engineers closed Melvern Lake’s Outlet Park on Saturday to prevent “elevated risk to life and safety.” The lake is about three feet shy of flowing uncontrolled through a nearby spillway. All sites in Outlet Park are closed until June 2. Other sites at Arrow Rock, Coeur d’Alene and Turkey Point are closed until late June.
In the midst of the heavy rainfall which has affected not only the KVOE listening area but Kansas as a whole, Governor Laura Kelly has officially reached out to President Donald Trump for an emergency declaration. According to the Wichita Eagle, Kelly made the request Sunday as Kansas is quickly approaching record levels of precipitation in the past month.
The request follows a state of disaster declaration issued by Governor Kelly which now encompasses 47 of Kansas’ 105 counties due to the flooding.
Memorial Day should be dry after the early-morning activity, but Tuesday could be active with the potential for severe weather. All severe weather hazards are currently possible for Tuesday afternoon and evening. Heavy rain is possible with any storms that develop.
Stay with KVOE and KVOE.com for updates. Join KVOE’s social media accounts on Twitter@kvoeam1400 or Facebook@kvoenews for instant weather and travel alerts if you have not already done so. Also, make sure to download the free KVOE mobile app so you have our severe weather coverage wherever you may be.
