Flood warning issued for Ohio River
When it finally warms up, could flooding on the Ohio River become a problem? The National Weather Service thinks so.
After record February snowfalls and record-low March temperatures, a big melt of the winter freeze is on the way -- and a flood warning will soon be in effect.
The National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Ohio River in Cincinnati on Friday morning -- taking effect Saturday morning and lasting through Monday.
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 that can cause a potential threat to property.
The weather service predicts that the river will rise above the flood stage by late Saturday morning and continue to rise near 53.7 feet by Sunday afternoon. By Monday morning, the river should fall below the flood stage.
The weather service also warned that river stages above 54 feet could cause flooding to spread up the lower Little Miami River through Newtown -- worsening in areas near California and Anderson Township.
Additional areas that could be affected include New Richmond, Petersburg, Belleview Road in Kentucky and the Old State Route and Water Street Creek near Aurora.
Cincinnati has received 4.9 inches of snow so far this month. Typically, the city received less than 1 inch to this point, according to the weather service.
That's already lead to a flood warning for the Ohio River at Portsmouth in 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 says "flooding will remain a possibility in rivers and streams in Kentucky," including some in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties.
Record low temperatures Friday morning
It's been colder in March before (minus 11 degrees in 1980) but it's never been colder on March 6, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures dipped to 0 degrees early Friday at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.
That breaks a record for the lowest temperature set on this date in 1960.
It also continues a trend of frigid cold that started in February after a relatively mild winter before then.
February 2015 was the fourth coldest on record and March is shaping up similarly, according to the weather service.
The average temperature so far this month (28.8 degrees) is about 10 degrees colder than it normally is in March (39.2), according to the weather service.
Weekend forecast:
The good news is warmer weather is on the way, and the weather service predicts temperatures in the 60s next week.
After some fog and temperatures in the single digits Friday morning, the weather service forecasts sunny skies and a high of 26 degrees at 4 p.m.
Those temperatures should increase above freezing Saturday and into the 40s Sunday. No rain or snow -- plus a lot of sun -- are currently forecast this weekend, according to the weather service.
Next week, temperatures are expected to climb into the 50s by Tuesday and the 60s by Thursday.