Flood advisory put in place through this afternoon

A flood advisory was in effect through early this afternoon in Blaine, Chouteau, Hill and Liberty counties with reports of some roads flooded already in the area, and the forecast still calling for more snow today through Friday morning.

A National Weather Service flood advisory in effect through 1:30 this afternoon reported that flooding was confirmed over a road about a  mile west of Big Sandy and flooding on a road north of Joplin.

Blaine County Commissioner Frank DePriest said this morning that Blaine County also had some minor flooding, although he was still waiting for more reports when he was interviewed.

He said runoff from fields had caused some flooding on a road at Lodge Creek, although the culvert was still handling the flow of the creek, and the county was working on a flooded road at Minor Coulee.

While reports said the Milk River east of Chinook was high and he was waiting on reports about Clear Creek, DePriest said no major flooding had been reported as of this morning.

“Right now, we’re sitting really good,” he said.

Calls to Hill County officials requesting an update had not been returned by printing deadline this morning.

The Weather Service advisory said warm temperatures were expected to continue melting snow through this morning with additional flooding possible on roads and highways and flooding of small creeks and streams, country roads, farmland, and other low-lying spots.

Weather Service warns people that most flooding deaths occur in vehicles and people should not attempt to cross flooded roadways. People need to find alternate routes, the advisory said.

But the weather is still expected to turn wintry today with a major snowstorm hitting the state today.

A winter weather advisory also was in effect today for Hill and Blaine counties, and a winter storm warning includes Chouteau and Liberty counties.

The warning, in effect through midnight tonight for Liberty County and through 6 Friday morning for Chouteau County, predicts 3 to 8 inches of snow will fall over the plains and up to 16 inches in the mountains from Big Sandy south and west, and 3 to 6 inches on the plains from Liberty County west and up to 12 inches in the mountains.

In Hill and Blaine counties, the advisory in effect from noon to midnight today predicts up to 2 inches falling along the Hi-Line with localized amounts up to 4 inches falling on southern Blaine and Hill counties.

Local temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s for lows for the next few days with highs in the 30s to lower 40s.