Rain that began Sunday evening has raised the level of rivers in Leflore County, causing flooding in some low-lying areas, though there had been no reports of flooded homes as of Monday, says Fred Randle, the county’s emergency management director.
From Sunday evening through 4 p.m. Monday, the Greenwood area received 1.77 inches of rainfall, according to the Jackson office of the National Weather Service.
Leflore County and other counties in the Delta were flagged for a limited threat of flash flooding by the National Weather Service. The advisory runs through Tuesday.
The rainfall has caused the Yalobusha River’s location at Whaley, located along Whaley Road east of Money and about 14 miles north of Greenwood, to rise to its flood stage of 21 feet. As of Monday evening, the river’s level was 22.6 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile in Greenwood, the Yazoo River’s level was 30.05 feet Monday afternoon, far below the flood stage of 35 feet.
Randle said that although the combination of rain, snow and ice had caused some flooding in low-lying areas, the ditches and roads in the county were doing well. He added that the county has sand bags available for residents should flooding of homes become an issue.
On Monday, Leflore County Road Manager Jerry Smith told county supervisors his department was working on the county’s waterways and beaver dams.
Smith said he had attempted to reach out to those involved with beaver control but had not heard back from them.
Andy Braswell, Mississippi State University’s extension agent for Leflore County, said the rain and melting snow and ice caused farm fields to become saturated with water. He added, though, that at this time of year there hasn’t been as much water as in past years. Also, normal commodity crops planted in the county — corn, cotton, soybeans and rice — aren’t usually planted until mid-April, when the soil warms to allow seeds to germinate.
The ice from the winter storm did cause some wheat — the only crop planted in the county as of this time — to burn, Braswell said. As of Monday, however, he said the wheat seemed to be recovering.
•Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com. Staff writer Adam Bakst, who contributed to this report, can be reached at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com.
