Area rivers are still on the low side as of this morning following Saturday afternoon and Saturday night’s rainfall. The Little Wabash River east of Fairfield is at 3.48 feet. Flood stage is 17 feet. At Clay City the stage is 3.87 feet. Flood stage is 18 feet. At Carmi the river is at 3.14 feet, below the 27-foot flood stage. The Skillet Fork at Wayne City stands at 5.05 feet. Flood stage is 15 feet. The Wabash River at Mt. Carmel is at 2.59 feet. Flood stage is 19 feet. Bonpas Creek at Browns reads 1.55 feet.
The next chance of rainfall in the area, according to the current forecast, is this coming Friday. Colder weather is expected Monday and Tuesday, with a warmup later in the week. As of Saturday morning parts of Wayne, Edwards, Jefferson and Wabash counties were under Severe Drought conditions, while southern Wayne County and areas to the south experiencing Moderate Drought conditions.
Long range forecasts continue to show warmer than normal temperatures expected, along with a little better chance at precipitation, through December 30th.