<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1y7XN0_1EHLVUwd00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1y7XN0_1EHLVUwd00" width="1100" height="825" ><figcaption>Traffic was rerouted Friday morning after flooding overwhelmed the traffic circle, sending one vehicle into the grass. (Photo by Jacqualin Leaman)</figcaption></figure>PARKERSBURG - As rain swept through the area Friday morning causing havoc with water in local roadways, downed tree limbs and more, local officials continued to watch to see if the weather would impact local events.The National Weather Service in Charleston reported that many spots in the Parkersburg area received over an inch of rainfall that hit the area quickly Friday morning, said meteorologist Megan Kieber."It came down pretty fast, and that is why we saw some of that street flooding," she said. "What we are expecting for the weekend is pretty much the same with daily showers and thunderstorms through Sunday, some of those which can be accompanied by some strong wind gusts along with heavy downpours."With our ground conditions … already pretty saturated from previous rainfall, it won't take much to cause some more localized high water issues."The Weather Service is forecasting a partly sunny day early Saturday with a high near 85. There will be a chance of showers and thunderstorms Saturday night before 2 a.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5 a.m. There is a 60% chance of precipitation throughout the evening on Saturday, followed by a 50% chance during the day on Sunday, rising to 70% in the evening and 30% on Monday. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half an inch are possible Saturday and up to a quarter of an inch on Sunday, with higher amounts could be possible in thunderstorms.Sunny conditions are expected to return Tuesday with a high near 82, the Weather Service reported. "This is the type of pattern where we have to see how storms evolve upstream in the Ohio Valley and see how they propagate eastward into our forecast area to determine which areas might receive flooding in those potentially stronger storms," Kieber said. "Some scattered showers were developing close to the Columbus area (Friday), and that will be an area we will keep an eye on."Wood County 911 Director Dale McEwuen said the area saw many instances of high water, including around the intersection of U.S. 50 and Interstate 77, the Traffic Circle in Parkersburg, around Lakeview Center, Core Road in Parkersburg near the Worthington Golf Course and elsewhere. Separate reports had high water along Grand Central Avenue in Vienna. Core Road still had water over it at 2 p.m. Friday. There were power lines down around the area, McEwuen said, adding a tree came down at an address along Lost Pavement Road and there was debris around the area. "There were just so many," he said. "We had torrential downpours."We had trees down all over the place. Everything kind of happened all at the same time." They had five dispatchers taking calls at the 911 Center and had to put their emergency services director on a station to answer the calls that were coming in. "They were just so inundated," McEwuen said. "It was an extraordinary amount of calls."As quickly as the rain came in, it drained quickly as well, he said, adding he had people reporting to him that the Lubeck area hardly got anything.McEwuen said he felt the rain was mostly to the north which caused Worthington Creek to overflow and flood Core Road.Plans for the Parkersburg Homecoming Festival are still on track for this weekend, said Homecoming Festival President Donna Helmick."We are not scared of a little rain," she said. "We’ll pivot if we need to, but we are moving forward with everything as planned."Washington County Sheriff Mark Warden said the speed at which the rain fell Friday morning caused a lot of problems for people with high water and debris along some roads. They had reports of some railroad ties that were carried by waters onto Ohio Route 339 that had to be removed. "Those kind of situations make it dangerous along the roadways," Warden said.Instances were being shown on social media of people driving through a local roadway covered in water. "If you go into it shallow and your car would stall out, that water could still be rising quickly," Warden said. "You could find yourself in some problems out there."When water is moving rapidly across the road, it can pick up and move the car. Three inches is enough if it is moving rapidly enough. There is a lot of force behind that water."In a number of areas, Warden said the water drained pretty quickly once the rain stopped."In the areas that are notorious for flooding, the water comes up and goes down pretty quick," he said.A planned grand opening of a new courtroom at Washington County Common Pleas Court was postponed after the weather caused water issues in the building’s restrooms, court Administrator Tracie Huggins. Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.</div></body>

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PARKERSBURG - As rain swept through the area Friday morning causing havoc with water in local roadways, downed tree limbs and more, local officials continued to watch to see if the weather would impact local events. The National Weather Service in Charleston reported that many spots in the Parkersburg area...

Area hit by sudden rain and high waters

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PARKERSBURG - As rain swept through the area Friday morning causing havoc with water in local roadways, downed tree limbs and more, local officials continu

Area hit by sudden rain and high waters

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