Springfield resident Jenny Woolley spent her Friday morning sweeping water out of her flooded basement.
“When I checked around 3 a.m., my basement was dry,” Woolley said. “When I checked again around 8 a.m., there was already a couple of inches.”
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Union Road between Spangler Road and Lower Valley Pike was closed Friday due to high water, according to the Clark County Engineer’s Office. Spangler Road between State Rt. 369 and State Rt. 4 was also closed due to flooding.
Clark County Engineer John Burr said Spangler Road and Lower Valley Pike are common flooding areas in the county.
“They are usually the first to go,” Burr said.
St. Paris Pike at Baker Road also experienced problems with high water, although neither ended up being closed.
Burr said one of the reasons that Mad River has a tendency to flood is because the river water has no where to go.
“It usually starts to flood the road at about seven inches; this morning at 5 a.m. it was already at 11 inches,” Burr said Friday.
With water across roadways, drivers can’t determine the depth of water or the condition of the road under the water, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. ODOT and Burr were also advising drivers to not drive through flooded roadways.
“We have a closed road sign up for a reason,” Burr said. “We don’t know what else is under that water. There could be branches or debris. Not to mention you can get a ticket.”
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Burr said it’s important for drivers to remember that you can get a citation for driving on a closed road.
“That’s because it’s dangerous,” Burr said. “Dangerous for you, and everyone who lives around there.”
In Champaign County, drivers were forced to re-route as several roads had high water, according to the Champaign County Engineer’s Office.
Clark Road at Knights Creek just north of Route 296 and Bowling Road just north of Christiansburg were both closed due to high water levels.
Both bridges will remain closed for the remainder of the weekend, as they will require additional inspection due to high water levels, said Steve McCall, with the Champaign County Engineer’s Office.
“We have lots of reports of washed up debris from fields and driveways that are causing excess items on the road,” McCall said.
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McCall said roads would most likely be cleared of all debris by the end of the day on Friday, however, additional storming could affect operations.
“It all depends on how much additional rain we get,” McCall said.
Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Dontae Jones predicted “amusement park type weather” on Saturday with high humidity and temperatures in the mid 80s throughout the region. A shower later in the day or evening is possible.
Summer weather should continue for part of Sunday.
“It will start off with sunshine,” Jones said.
Clouds should increase throughout the day. Late Sunday afternoon, Jones is expecting scattered showers and thunderstorms.
The weather should bring gusty winds and “pretty heavy rains,” with isolated strong-to-severe storms Sunday night.
Temperatures should continue in the mid-80s along with mugginess, according to Jones.
Staff Writer Lawrence Budd contributed to this story.
2.8: inches of rainfall received by Springfield between Thursday night and Friday morning
2.93: inches of rainfall received by Urbana between Thursday night and Friday morning
2: Bridges in Champaing County officially closed on Friday due to high water
2: Roads in Clark County officially closed on Friday due to high water
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