Flood warnings in effect as Big Blue continues to rise

A flood warning is in effect along the Big Blue River as forecasters predict the river stage in Beatrice could reach up to 26.5 feet by Tuesday evening, Gage County Emergency Management Director Mark Meints said Monday morning.

“The river is rising higher than anticipated,” Meints said. “Ever since 1:30 a.m. Saturday, we've been pretty much under a thunderstorm warning.”

As of 4:45 a.m. Monday, the Big Blue River at the South Sixth Street bridge was measured at 22.1 feet, more than 6 feet higher than flood stage of 16 feet.

Meints said county and city of Beatrice officials were to meet at 9 a.m. Monday to discuss contingency plans. If the river reaches 26.5 feet, he said, the West Court Street bridge would certainly be closed, while the South Sixth Street bridge could also be closed at least partially.

Chautauqua and Riverside parks in Beatrice have already been closed.

Meints said he did not expect flooding to affect residences, but said some businesses could be affected.

In the rest of Gage County, Meints said high water forced closure of Dogwood Road near DeWitt and a number of other county roads. He said a lot of debris was reported across many roads, while many unpaved county roads lost rock and gravel over the weekend.

Beatrice Municipal Airport officially received 3.89 inches of rain over the weekend, including 1.79 inches on Sunday. Other rainfall readings in the Sunland area ranged from about 2 inches to more than 6 inches.

In Beatrice, a number of streets around Chautauqua Park remain closed due to high river waters, but all other streets are open, Ron Baete, Board of Public Works Water Superintendent, said Monday morning.

A number of Beatrice roads and streets were closed temporarily Sunday night because of the flash-flood waters, Baete said.

“Anytime we have heavy rain in a short amount of time, there's quite a few streets that flood,” Baete said.

The rains even closed the annual Gage County Relay for Life three hours early Saturday morning. The Relay for Life Committee advised campers at 3 a.m. that the Relay was closing down in response to National Weather Service information.

In Jefferson County, John McKee, Jefferson County emergency management director, said high winds and hail created an undetermined amount of damage in Steele City over the weekend. A number of trees were down and windows on homes broken.

Rainfall over the weekend in Jefferson County ranged from 2 inches to more than 5 inches, he said. At least one bridge on a county road and a number of culverts were washed out.

In Saline County, strong winds Saturday night blew over an irrigation pivot about two miles west of Western, while a number of outbuildings were damaged near Western, Dorchester and Crete, Saline County Emergency Management Director B.J. Fictum said.

A number of trees at Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Dorchester fell over in the high winds, damaging eight headstones and monuments.

Rainfall readings in Saline County ranges from about 2 inches to more than 6 inches, Fictum said. Nearly 20 county roads were closed tue to flooding along Turkey Creek and the Big Blue River, and one bridge was closed after abutments were damaged by flash flooding Saturday evening.

In Johnson County, about 4 inches of rain were reported, Johnson County Emergency Management Director Robert Lueders said. County bridges near Sterling and Crab Orchard were reported to be washed out, while widespread flooding was reported along bottom land.

Elsewhere in Nebraska, flood warnings were posted for several counties in central and eastern Nebraska through Monday or Tuesday. The weather service said there was already flooding along the Missouri River, particularly at Nebraska City and Brownville, and there was a potential for flooding of the Big Nemaha River near Falls City and the Republican River Basin downstream of the Harlan Reservoir.