Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Forensics
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
North Carolina Outer Banks bracing for flooding, wind as Hurricane Erin passes. Chevron right
Hurricane Erin to unleash life-threatening surf along U.S. coast this week. Click for details Chevron right

Grenora, ND

91°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Grenora

North Dakota

91°

No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Grenora, ND Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast® Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Forensics

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars
Heat Advisory

News / Weather News

Worst of flooding is over for much of central US, but still some hurdles to overcome into July

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

Published Jun 11, 2019 1:08 PM CDT | Updated Sep 4, 2019 2:54 PM CDT

Copied

More than 400 members of the Illinois National Guard helped with flood relief efforts in Illinois over June 8 and 9, as flooding from the Mississippi and Illinois river continued. The soldiers laid sandbags to keep back floodwaters and also delivered aid to those in need.

While the worst may be over in terms of widespread heavy rain, pockets of drenching showers and thunderstorms are likely to cause trouble at the local level over the central United States into July.

A break from the rainfall in recent days was a sign that the weather pattern that contributed a great deal to the widespread flooding has come to an end.

"We no longer have large storms rolling up from the southwest or pushing directly eastward from the Pacific Ocean," according to AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.

Central Pattern

"Instead, less-frequent, smaller storms will tend to drop southeastward from western Canada," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson.

"While these storms will pick up some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico as they move along, they won't have so much water with them immediately," Anderson said.

During much of March, April and May, one storm after another was rolling into the region. The storms packed a great deal of Pacific and subtropical moisture. May 2019 went down as the wettest on record for Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, and Oklahoma recorded its second wettest May ever.

State Records

"We have begun to see more separation in storm systems, which will translate to longer breaks of dry weather over more areas than we have seen in recent weeks and months," Pastelok said.

Even with the weather pattern changing, the response from the large rivers and an end to the flooding will not be immediate.

The middle portion of the Mississippi, as well as much of the Missouri and Arkansas rivers, has crested. River levels are forecast to fall slowly over the coming weeks.

Commerce on Mississippi River continues to be affected

The high water levels have shut down most lock operations on the Mississippi River above St. Louis. The terminals have either been flooded, or the force of the water is too strong for the lock to operate without damage.

The closed locks have stopped barge traffic over the upper part of the Mississippi River.

AP Photo barge traffic

In this Tuesday, May 14, 2019 photo, barges already loaded with soy beans, potash or scrap steel await movement on the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minn., as spring flooding interrupts shipments on the river. Historic Midwest flooding that began in March has left parts of the Mississippi River closed for business. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

AP

Barge traffic has also been affected on the Illinois and Arkansas rivers.

The fast flow of water has deposited silt and created shoals in some of the shipping channels, which has prompted dredging operations by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Farther south, the water is still rising over the lower part of the Mississippi River. However, with the opening of the Morganza Spillway above Baton Rouge, Louisiana, delayed indefinitely by the Army Corps of Engineers, there is hope that more water will not need to be released into the Atchafalaya River.

The release of water from Morganza and the Old River structure can lead to major flooding in the Atchafalaya Basin.

Still some bumps on the road to recovery likely

Even though the weather pattern moving forward in time suggests less rain less often, the region is not out of the woods in terms of localized heavy rainfall and the problems already set into motion.

"We certainly don't expect rain-free weather for the region in the coming weeks," Pastelok said.

RELATED:

What you should do if you get stuck driving in floodwaters
AccuWeather’s new analysis predicts substantial 2019 crop yield shortfall
‘Since when does Ohio get earthquakes?’ Magnitude 4.0 earthquake shakes near Cleveland

This time of the year, complexes of thunderstorms are responsible for the bulk of the rain in the region. And this is likely to be the case in the coming weeks.

For example, instead of heavy rain for three days straight over a several-state area, it may only rain hard during one day or part of a day every three days.

That type of rainfall can generally allow the large river systems to handle the runoff and even continue to recede, but small streams may rise quickly due to prevailing wet ground.

"There is still some concern for a front to stall across part of the region late this weekend into early next week, which could cause showers and thunderstorms to repeat," Pastelok said.

That setup is more likely to be in a narrow zone, rather than over the entire region. Some of that rain may fall on areas that have been hit by flooding recently or are still experiencing flooding.

In the coming weeks, barring minor setbacks, levels on the upper Mississippi should fall enough to allow locks to open and shipping to resume, although more dredging of the shipping channels may be needed.

If there is a river basin that may still experience flooding problems in the next couple of weeks, it may be the Arkansas based on frontal concerns aforementioned.

Worst flooding 3 pm

Part of the Ohio Valley may actually receive a bit more than which has occurred in recent months. However, much of that basin can handle a reasonable amount of rain.

Many fields and low-lying areas will remain under water or too muddy to venture into for days, if not weeks, and the clock is ticking on the planting and growing season.

Download the free AccuWeather app for more precise details on the forecast for your area. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Podcast banner for news stories
Report a Typo

Weather News

Hurricane

Warnings issued as Outer Banks faces flooding, massive waves from Erin

Aug. 19, 2025
Hurricane

Tropical Atlantic stays active after Erin; more systems likely

Aug. 19, 2025
Weather Forecasts

Flooding downpours to unfold in Northeast as Erin spins offshore

Aug. 19, 2025
video

How lightning triggers wildfires

Aug. 5, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Hurricane

Hurricane Erin to unleash dangerous surf, rip currents along East Coas...

5 minutes ago

Hurricane

Warnings issued as Outer Banks faces flooding, massive waves from Erin

1 hour ago

Health

NYC Legionnaires’ disease cluster grows to more than 100 cases, includ...

1 day ago

Weather Forecasts

Cool sweep to erase heat, high humidity in Northeast

11 hours ago

Climate

The strange divide in how Americans experience summer temperatures

3 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Astronomy

Goodbye long days: Where sunset is now happening before 8 pm

4 days ago

Weather News

Heavy rain in Pakistan, India-administered Kashmir and Nepal kills 400

1 day ago

Weather News

Police: Suspected suicide attempt was just trucker trying to cool off

1 day ago

Recreation

Atacama Desert bloom phenomenon to return in mid-September

3 hours ago

Weather News

US teen pilot accused of unauthorized Antarctic landing reaches deal

5 days ago

AccuWeather Weather News Worst of flooding is over for much of central US, but still some hurdles to overcome into July
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy™ About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy™ About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We'll keep you informed.