New Albany keeps close eye on rainy weather’s effects

UPDATE: Weather effects

By 5:30 PM on Friday evening, the rain having slacked off, there was no longer water on Main Street. Though heavy rains left behind swollen streams and isolated flooding, neither the Union County Sheriff’s office nor the New Albany Chief of Police reported any accidents or injuries due to the weather.  By early evening, Westside BBQ’s building looked to still have 2-3 feet of water in the building.

Westside BBQ sitting in several feet of water

Westside is not far from the shore of what has become an impoundment of perhaps 50 acres. It appears the water may be trapped by the intersecting roadbeds of Munsford Drive and Highway 30, which are elevated well above the average terrain and have effectively become levees, trapping the water.

Several acres of standing water, near Hwy 30 and Munsford Drive

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The New Albany area just experienced its second major rain storm in less that two weeks. Estimates of the  Friday June 19th storm ranged around 8 inches of rain; as of 3:30 this afternoon, July 3rd,  the area had received another 7.9 inches of rain since midnight, according to Joe Wilson’s rain gauge.*  More rain is expected later today and tomorrow through Monday.

Today’s storm has produced substantial runoff water collecting in many low areas. Flooded streets in New Albany included the section of Main Street under the new Tanglefoot Trail bridge; South Central Ave. near Hwy 15 was closed for a while due to flooding, and part of Bratton Rd. was under water. There were reports of problems on some outlying county roads, where local fire department volunteers had aided stranded motorists.

Flooding on New Albany’s Main Street beneath new Tanglefoot Trail bridge

Water has not risen to the levels of a few years ago when some downtown buildings were flooded, and recent work done around those buildings should protect them from much higher water levels.

While the Tallahatchie is out of its banks in some places, rumors on Facebook of an impending evacuation of the jail due to rising water are not true. According to the Sheriff’s office, there has never been any serious consideration of evacuating county prisoners, though they will continue to keep an eye out for any rising water.

Further rains falling over the next two days could bring about additional problems with our swollen rivers and saturated ground.

Tallahatchie River looking downstream from Bankhead bridge over river.

NAnewsweb will update this story if further information becomes available

* Second only to J. Lynn West, Joe Wilson is the top news man in Union County. Joe has his ear to the ground ’round the clock.  J. Lynn, of course, has no serious rival in the news business in Union County.