The ball fields of Schwartzkopf Park are shown flooded by the waters of Mill Creek which spilled its banks Sunday afternoon. Northern portions of Union County reported as much as four inches of rain over the weekend.
(Photo submitted)
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Three children are shown Sunday, running through the flooded waters of Mill Creek in Schwartzkopf Park. Shortly after the photo was taken, Marysville Police closed the park, blocking off its entrances with stanchions.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Chad Williamson)
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Rain continues to fall all across Union County.
With a wet weekend and a forecast that shows more precipitation to come, county residents can expect to keep their umbrellas handy until at least the weekend.
“It has been less of an issue this weekend than it has been earlier this season,” said County Engineer Jeff Stauch. “But there have been a handful of road closures around the county.”
On Sunday morning, the Union County Sheriff’s Office closed three roads north of Marysville: Grindell Road, Miller Road and Bethlehem-Claibourne Road due to high water and the office encourages drivers to use caution this week.
Stauch said his office is keeping an eye on the forecast.
“Some of the storms have been so isolated this year, it’s been really hit or miss,” he said. “But we’re watching the weather and working with the Sheriff’s Office to be up on things. It makes for tough conditions for our construction projects though and for farmers.”
Brad Gilbert, director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency, said the consistent rainfall has especially led to saturation in the areas north of Marysville.
“Heavy rains across northern parts of the county resulted in flash flooding of roadways and fields,” Gilbert said. “Our office did not receive any reports of flooding to homes or other structures.”
A number of locations from local parks to farm fields have been flooded with water but Gilbert added there have been reports of upwards of four inches of rain in the northern part of the county from this weekend.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), central Ohio has seen nearly two feet of rain since the start of the year and more than two inches this month alone.
As of Monday morning, the NWS issued Union County a flash flood watch through Tuesday, citing the possibility of 1-3 inches of rain possible in some areas.
The seven-day forecast shows precipitation percentages ranging from 40-50% to as high as 80% for nearly every day of the week through next Wednesday.
Although the forecast shows the possibility of a break Friday, the weekend and next week’s forecast shows chances for rain returning.