Ohio River exceeds initial crest estimation as Tri-State deals with floods

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – The heaviest rain is over, but the Ohio River is still rising in Cincinnati early Monday.

As of 1 p.m., it stands at moderate flood stage of 60.7 feet, which is above the initial crest estimation of 60.5 feet, according to the FOX19 NOW First Alert Weather Team.

Ohio River level forecast(wxix)

A Flood Warning remains in effect until 12:30 p.m. Friday for the Ohio River in Cincinnati and at dams east and west of the city, as well as Maysville in Northern Kentucky.

Due to the flooding, several roads remain closed.

The heaviest rain is over, but the Ohio River is still rising in Cincinnati early Monday and close to cresting at a moderate flood stage of 60.5 feet, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.(FOX19 NOW)

Ohio River floodwaters rise up this stop and street sign in Covington.(FOX19 NOW)

There are three areas of the Ohio River we are monitoring for flooding:

Ohio River in Cincinnati. Though nowhere close to record levels, this will bring a lot of impacts to communities along the river. River levels will also remain steady or at least in moderate flood stage for the next several days.
Licking River in Falmouth in Pendleton County. The cities of Butler and Falmouth have been ordered a mandatory evacuation due to flooding. The order was lifted for Falmouth at 12 p.m. Monday. The Licking River at Falmouth crested at 38.63 feet around 5:30 p.m. Sunday and now stands at 37.87.
Kentucky River at Lockport in Owen County: Forecast crest by Tuesday morning is 56.0 feet, which would nears the all-time record at this gauge. The record is 56.9′ set back on Jan. 26, 1937.

Current Tri-State flood alerts(WXIX)

Among the hardest hit is Pendleton County, where mandatory evacuation orders were issued over the weekend for residents in the rural town of Butler and the city of Falmouth.

The Licking and Kentucky Rivers are seeing major, near-historic flooding.