Historic flooding leaves 4 dead in Louisiana; Flood risk to continue early this week

By Jordan Root, Meteorologist

August 14,2016; 8:08PM,EDT

 

 

Historic flooding in Louisiana has claimed the lives of 4 people so far as heavy rain continues to drench the state.
According to the Associated Press, one person is also missing at this time and at least 18,000 water rescues have been conducted so far.
An area of low pressure packing abundant moisture and creeping along the Gulf Coast can be blamed for spreading a swath of heavy and life-threatening rainfall from Florida to Louisiana since last week.
The heaviest rain from this system so far has been over southern Mississippi and Louisiana. Multi-day rainfall amounts have eclipsed 30 inches in some parts of Louisiana.

The deluge has quickly sent local rivers well above major flood stage and in some cases has shattered records. Record crest levels were surpassed on the Amite, Comite and Tickfaw rivers just east of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The rain has left highways submerged and travel nearly impossible across several parishes near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The area of low pressure responsible for the rain will slowly churn northward heading into Monday and will eventually interact with a stalled front draped from Texas to the Ohio Valley.
In this aerial photo a boat motors between flooded homes after heavy rains inundating the region Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016, in Hammond, La. (AP Photo/Max Becherer)
"As tropical moisture interacts with a stalled front, heavy rains can be expected across eastern Texas, far northern Louisiana and Arkansas," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ed Vallee said.
This will shift the risk for flooding early in the week to Houston, St. Louis and Little Rock, Arkansas, and will also bring a return of unsettled weather to the Northeast. Repeated downpours will lead to travel delays in this region over the next couple of days.
Most of these thunderstorms will not bring severe weather in terms of wind or hail, although there can be isolated strong gusts. Heavy rain and flooding will be the greatest threats.
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The location of the front will determine where the heaviest rain sets up early this week. As of right now, it appears the heaviest rain will remain north of flood-ravaged areas of southern Louisiana, Mississippi and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast which will allow for some relief.
However, some concerns still remain going forward for these areas.
"The threat for widespread downpours will decrease through the middle of the week but due to the tropical airmass still in place, localized drenching thunderstorms will still be a threat," Vallee warned.

While downpours will be more isolated when compared to this past weekend, some areas could still see an inch or two of rain in a short amount of time, leading to more flooding.
"The ground is completely saturated so any additional afternoon or evening thunderstorms during the week will worsen the flood situation," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brian Edwards said.
Regardless of additional downpours, river levels may still continue to rise over the next couple of days.
"In addition, runoff from heavier rains across the mid-Mississippi Valley this week will eventually flow south which will delay the river levels from lowering," Edwards added.