By Renee Duff, AccuWeather meteorologist
October 06, 2018, 6:13:28 AM EDT
Flooding dangers will mount in the central United States as downpours funnel into the Plains on a daily basis into Tuesday.
Moisture from both the East Pacific and Gulf of Mexico will collide across the central and southern Plains through early week, bringing rounds of heavy, flooding rainfall, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Rathbun.
A large area of high pressure set to bring building warmth to the East next week will act as a roadblock, preventing the downpours from making forward progress and causing them to repeat over the same areas.
Farther north and west, enough cold air will be in place for the moisture to be wrung out in the form of snow over the Rockies and northern Plains.
“The heaviest rainfall is expected to be concentrated to areas just west of the Interstate-35 corridor where there can be an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 1 foot of rain by midweek,” Rathbun said.
More widespread rainfall totals of 4-8 inches are expected from northwestern Texas to Iowa, spanning Saturday through Tuesday.
Such amounts can flood streets, neighborhoods and fields, and cause water levels on small streams and creeks to rise.
Download the AccuWeather app to be notified of imminent flooding dangers for your exact location.
People eager to go pumpkin picking or take part in other outdoor activities will struggle to find a dry time to do so.
Farmers may face harvesting delays as fields become too muddy to work in.
In addition to needing to reduce speeds to lower the risk of hydroplaning, motorists should be watchful for high water on the roadways.
Never maneuver around a barrier that is blocking a flooded road and attempt to drive through floodwaters. The water may be deeper than it appears and the roadway underneath could be washed away.
While Chicago will be spared from the heaviest rainfall, the area could be dampened by showers and thunderstorms on Sunday as tens of thousands of runners compete in the Chicago Marathon.
It will otherwise be cool and cloudy for the race, with temperatures in the lower 60s F for much of the day.
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Flooding will pose the greatest risk to lives and property across the Plains, but it is not out of the question for embedded thunderstorms to pulse to locally damaging levels each day.
This risk will be greatest across West Texas and perhaps into Oklahoma.
Despite the setbacks, the rainfall will be a benefit to some.
“The rain can put a significant dent or completely eliminate the drought across parts of the Plains, especially in western Texas, eastern Kansas and western Missouri,” Rathbun said.
The downpours will finally get a push eastward during the second half of the week, with dry air set to briefly sweep into the central and southern Plains by Thursday.
“However, moisture from Sergio could bring another bout of rain and localized flash flooding by next weekend,” Rathbun said.
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