Ohio, Little Miami rivers pose flood threat

• Take heed to high water signs - they are no joke
• Ohio River rising above flood level%2C but Little Miami should stay safe
• Threat of flooding should end by Monday morning

The National Weather Service on Friday issued a flood warning for the Ohio River near Cincinnati that will last for about a day beginning Saturday morning.

The Ohio River is expected to rise above flood stage - 52 feet - for about a day starting Saturday morning, according to a release. The river should crest at approximately 53.7 feet.

Low-lying areas near New Richmond are likely to see minor flooding. Backwater flooding along creeks close to the river is a possibility, Clermont County officials said, and residents should be prepared to utilize alternate routes while driving.

Clermont County residents in low-lying areas are asked to avoid walking through water, driving through flooded areas and driving around closure signs and barricades, the release said.

Flood conditions are the result of several inches of rain and new snow combined with melting snow. Snow continued to melt Friday after record-low cold temperatures during the early morning hours.

The Ohio River stage was measured at 48.8 feet at 10 a.m. Friday. The flood stage is 52 feet. A flood stage is when water rises to areas not normally covered by water, causing a potential threat to property.

City officials announced Friday that they were taking action.

The Metropolitan Sewer District's is activating flood operations at the Mill Creek Dam facility on Friday and plan to keep it in operation throughout the coming week.

However, the city does not anticipate needing to activate flood gates due to projected river levels.

"It's definitely one of the most common times of the year for flooding," said Anderson Township Battalion Chief Rick Martin. "But the biggest issue we see doesn't come from flooding basements - it's on the roads."

Anderson Township was one of several areas the National Weather Service warned of additional flooding from rising water in the Little Miami River.

"I can't stress enough how important it is to take high water signs for what they are," Martin said. "We get too many instances of people driving into water they shouldn't."

Other areas that could be affected include by the Little Miami River include Newtown, California, New Richmond and Petersburg, the weather service added.

"That water has to get really high before the Little Miami starts flooding near Newtown, but you never know," Martin said. "We have a strange confluence of factors adding up right now with the snow and the rain before that, and now the high temperatures are coming next week."

However, the river should fall below the flood stage by Monday morning.

Cincinnati has received 4.9 inches of snow so far this month. Typically, the city gets less than 1 inch by this point in March, according to the weather service.

This already led to a flood warning issued on Thursday for the Ohio River at Portsmouth, Ohio and Maysville in Kentucky.

The river is expected to rise about 3 feet above flood stage by Saturday morning at Portsmouth.

The weather service also said "flooding will remain a possibility in rivers and streams in Kentucky," including some in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.