By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com
With another inch or so of rain expected to fall later this afternoon and into the evening, the biggest threat will be flash flooding of streets and low-lying property and falling trees.
A Flash Flood Watch has been in effect for Oxford since Monday and has been extended until 8 a.m. Thursday.
Rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are expected. The already saturated ground and any heavy rainfall could immediately runoff and cause flash flooding, according to Oxford Emergency Management Coordinator Jimmy Allgood.
“Right now, all of our roads are in good condition with the exception of Varner Loop behind the Beacon, and we had to close it due to a clogged drainage pipe,” Allgood said Wednesday morning.
The latest model shows the system moving into Oxford and Lafayette County between 3 and 4 p.m., just about the time schools are letting out. Rainfall totals for the storm event over the past couple of days have been about 3.5 inches, Allgood said.
Limbs and trees falling is another concern, he said. While the ground is saturated, so are the trees.
“If we see the development of thunderstorms with high winds, due to the saturated ground, we have the chance of trees falling which would cause us problems with road blockages and power outages.”
In Lafayette County, Emergency Management Director Steve Quarles said county roads are holding up and, as of Wednesday morning, only County Roads 105 and 129 had portions of the road closed from flooding.
“CR 105 is a road that frequently has to be closed (due to water),” Quarles said. “CR 129 is a rural road that still has access from each end.”
There is also a slight risk for severe thunderstorms across northeast Mississippi for this afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. The primary concern with these storms will be damaging winds, but there is a potential for a brief, spin-up tornado if the ingredients come together.
Showers and thunderstorms are likely before 4 p.m., then showers and possibly a thunderstorm between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. and rain and thunderstorms after 5 p.m. Roads are also expected to have patchy fog.
