Between 3 to 5 inches of rain had fallen in Monroe County in the past week as of early Wednesday, as rain continued to fall.
Matthew Eckhoff, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, said rain gauges in Monroe County showed 3.12 inches in the northeast part of the county near Lake Lemon and 5.07 inches east of Bloomington near the Brown County line.
“That’s not including what’s falling now,” he said at about 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 20. He anticipated the area would have about 6 inches total by late Wednesday with more rainfall expected Friday through Sunday, stating, “The weather pattern looks wet.”
Eckhoff said Owen, Brown, Morgan, Greene and Lawrence counties were also getting between 3-5 inches of rain. “It’s fairly widespread. That’s why creeks and river are responding with some flooding.” He said the most rainfall was reported in Knox County, which has had 8 inches with more expected.
The advice he offered to motorists was “turn around, don’t drown. Don’t drive into flooded areas … it doesn’t take much water to float a car or truck.”
County roads closed due to flooding
Monroe County officials advised people to pay attention to changing weather conditions and monitor for flood and flash flood watches and warnings. The advice was not to cross water-covered roads.
As of Wednesday morning, the roads closed due to flooding in Monroe County include:
Anderson Road between Low Gap Road and Bean Blossom Road.
Bottom Road between Simpson Chapel and Lawson roads.
Bottom Road between Mount Pleasant and Prather roads, in the gravel portion.
Friendship Road between Ind. 446 and the Monroe County line.
Gross Road near Friendship Road.
Lampkins Ridge Road at the intersection of Friendship Road.
McGowan Road between Kent and Eldridge Road.
Miller Road between Robinson and Shilo roads.
Stipp Road at Cartop State Recreation Area.
Woodall Road between Delap and Woodland roads.
Contact Carol Kugler at ckugler@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Portions of 9 Monroe County roads closed due to flooding
Reporting by Carol Kugler, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
