BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – Flood Warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service for the Saint Joseph River at Three Rivers and at Burlington following the rain of recent days.
The Flood Warning for the St. Joe at Burlington is from Tuesday afternoon until further notice. At 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon the stage was 6.2 feet which is just below the 6.5 foot flood stage. Minor flooding is forecast as the river is expected to rise above flood stage by Wednesday afternoon and continue to rise to near 6.9 feet by early Thursday morning. Minor flooding of crawl spaces to homes adjacent to the river upstream is expected.
The Flood Warning continues for the St. Joe at Three Rivers until further notice. At 1:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, the stage was over a foot above flood stage at 8.3 feet and rising. Minor flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is forecast. The river is expected rise to a crest near 9.1 feet around 8:00 p.m. Wednesday night and begin falling.
When the river gets that high, moderate flooding of Scidmore Park can be expected. High water also affects several businesses and floods the basements of nearby homes.
The Flood Watch for Branch County expired on Monday night but not before the rain of the last few days caused some high water problems. The M.S.U. Extension Service weather station at the Bloom Dairy Farm recorded one-point-four inches of rain on Monday which brought the two day total up to 2.15 inches. When you add the rain from late last week, the station has measured 3.61 inches since last Thursday.
After no rain fell during the first nine days in May, the weather station has recorded 4.07 inches of rain since May 10.
