The Weather Channel this morning showed the Ohio River at Cincinnati overflowing its banks closing down many of the riverfront restaurants. Most folks don't know that 70% of the lower Mississippi River flow comes from the Ohio River with only 30% coming from the Upper Mississippi. With so much water coming down the Ohio, it's only a matter of time before we start to see the impacts here. The levels at the Carrollton gage just dropped below 14 feet, but are projected to surge back to 16+' by early March. Our high river water levels usually come in April into May so I would not be surprised to see the Corps of Engineers opening the spillway this year as the next 2 weeks keeps the southern storm track very active with lots of heavy rains falling over the Ohio Valley & southeast. What I don't see during the next 2 weeks is a shift of the upper trough from the west coast to the east coast. That should mean we will avoid any hard freezes for the rest of this Winter. What could happen is the East Coast trough develops in March so that we keep a frost and light freeze threat here long after trees and flowers have budded out. So much uncertainty that we need not worry just yet.
In the short term, we are warming back up into the 70s for the next several days. Rain chances will remain low, but daily fog possibilities increase as we head into Saturday. I don't see another front until some time later next week and this weekend's Mardi Gras parades should be mostly dry. I still have bad vibes regarding a big cool down coming before Fat Tuesday...still over 2 weeks away. Stay tuned!
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