Cindy’s remnants bring street flooding from South to Midwest

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Rain bands reeling away from Tropical Depression Cindy spread drenching rains from the Southeast to the Midwest, triggering flash- flood warnings over several states including West Virginia, whose residents Friday marked the anniversary of deadly floods last June.

The storms stretching for hundreds of miles are expected to push river levels higher in coming days as the remnants cross Tennessee and Kentucky into West Virginia.

The severe weather, which was blamed for recent coastal flooding in the Deep South, tornadoes and one death, is rumbling closer to the densely populated East Coast.

The National Weather Service said Friday that Cindy was winding down and had lost tropical characteristics as heavy rain potential moved east across the Ohio Valley and into Pennsylvania with severe thunderstorms forming to the south.

Weather service forecasters said rainfall totals of 2-4 inches were possible in several states, with up to 6 inches in isolated spots.

Flash flood watches were issued for much of Kentucky and West Virginia. Last June, torrential rains in West Virginia claimed 23 lives and memories of that disaster remained fresh at somber ceremonies honoring the dead.

A brief ceremony marking last year’s fatal flooding took place Friday at the West Virginia Police Academy in Dunbar, where a bell was rung 23 times, for each who died. U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin traveled to another community, White Sulphur Springs, for the dedication of a memorial for eight victims there.

Labeled a 1,000-year flood by the National Weather Service, the storm destroyed more than 2,100 homes statewide and damaged another 2,000.

“As time goes on, we’re struggling to get through the after effects of what took place in the flood,” John Wyatt, a pastor from Rainelle, told West Virginia Public Broadcasting. He’s still rebuilding his own home.

With Cindy’s remnants a threat over a huge area, many just hoped severe weather would pass them without harm.

The U.S. Storm Prediction Center said severe storms pose a lingering threat from the Southeast into western Pennsylvania.