Valley under flood threat as river rises

Staff report

The National Weather Service in Cleveland reported that a flood warning along the Mahoning River and a general flood warning will continue until 11 a.m. today.

In the midst of a total of 1.66 inches of rain from Friday to Sunday, a record-high temperature of 64 degrees was set at 2 a.m. Sunday at Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport.

Friday’s rainfall was 0.12 inches, Saturday had 1.04 inches and Sunday totaled 0.50 inches. The Akron-Canton area had 2 inches of rain.

The rain, along with melted snow, have contributed to two higher readings along the Mahoning River, whose flood stage is 10 feet. The weather service reported Sunday night that the river was at 12.32 feet in Leavittsburg and 11.31 feet in Youngstown. In Warren, it stood at 8.96 feet.

The weather service said lowland flooding and water in neighborhoods in Leavittsburg usually occurs at 13.5 feet and higher. The Warren Fire Department and Warren Township police and fire had no reports of flooding.

In Youngstown, flooding may occur in lowland areas near the river and nearby secondary roads.

The weather forecast looks bleak for a true white Christmas, although there is a chance of snow showers during the day Tuesday, Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Day, no snow is predicted, and the temperatures will be in the low 30s.