Anyone Familar with northern Mississippi?

[Jason Moreland]

I know the NW portion of the state has the best visibility around in Dixie Alley. My question pertain more toward the flood potential. Can one still get away with chasing along the highways in that area after 2"-3"+ of precip?

 

[Charles Loring]

Hey Jason. I'm not in Northern MS, but I have been down to Memphis where their elevation is much like that of Northern MS and I would say 2-3" could cause some isolated flooding problems, but I don't think it will affect the main highways much at all.

 

[Jason Moreland]

Thanks Charles. I'll be eying this area fri/sat.

 

[Dave Marshall]

I've chased N Mississippi a few times, mostly following tropical systems, so the rainfall was a good bit heavier than what you'll likely see this weekend. Really its virtually the same as the terrain here in Central GA, and the only place you really have to worry about large amounts of standing/running water is in the occassional creek bottom or in a hollow surrounded by higher terrian. There's an awful lot of surface water in that area, which helps to pull most of the runoff away from the roads pretty quickly.

All bets are off when it starts coming down faster than it can run off though. A good 3" downpour in an hour (which seems possible if the Precipitable Water is as high as the GFS thinks its going to be) could really foul up the surface streets. The interstates should be just fine though.

 

[Terry Tyler]

Id say 2"-3" about anywhere in a short period is going to cause a flash flooding issue. Having been all over this state, i can tell you this. It all depends on what highway your riding. Big four-lanes like 45,78,55,6 are real clean, while alot of state highways and backroads can be pretty hairy. The problems i always run into with the hairy ones are standing water accumulations, potholes in the street, and large-curvature divots. Road conditions like that can create a high-risk of hydroplaning or completely covering your windshield with muddy water. The biggest problem being you have to drive real slow to avoid wrecking. Ill put it to you like this, about any place along the delta you run the risk of a flash flood but i wouldent worry about them too much. I think 12/9/08 was a really good example of how bad it can get. I found roads washed away and even went up to my headlights at one point. I guess its not much different then any where else under those circumstances though.