PARKERSBURG — Creeks and rivers in the Mid-Ohio Valley were higher than normal Monday prompting the National Weather Service to issue a flood warning.

The flood warning was in effect until 7 p.m. Monday for Washington, Morgan, Athens and Meigs counties in Ohio and Pleasants County in West Virginia. At 4:45 a.m. Monday gauge reports indicated flooding along rivers and larger streams including the Little Muskingum River, Shade River and Duck Creek, according to the flood warning.

The warning said that the flooding of rivers, creeks, streams and other low-lying and flood prone areas was imminent or occurring and that some streams were continuing to rise due to excess runoff from earlier rainfall, while others already crested and were starting to drop.

Though there was area flooding, the Ohio State Highway Patrol had dealt with only one incident in Washington County related to high water as of Monday afternoon, according to OSHP Lieutenant Chris Chesar.

“We had one vehicle stuck in high water on State Route 26,” Chesar said.

Worthington Creek at the Corning Boat Ramp starts to rise at the mouth with the Little Kanawha. Swollen by tributaries, the Ohio River is expected to crest at 1 a.m. today, the National Weather Service forecasts. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

There was high water in the road from the Little Muskingum River. Sunday afternoon and a car got stuck in the high water. The driver was not injured, he said.

Around noon Monday the water had receded and OSHP was working on getting the car out of the road, according to Chesar.

“As always we urge people to pay attention to the roadways and not drive through high water,” Chesar said.

West Virginia residents fared well despite the high water issue in the area.

A Wood County 911 supervisor said there had been no high water incidents or accidents due to the weather as of Monday afternoon.

While Point Park and the walking trail were closed to people on Monday, debris and Canada geese came to shore on the high water of the Ohio River at Point Park. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

“We had no issues on any roads to report,” the supervisor said.

Vienna had some high water, but it did not impact residents, according to Mayor Randy Rapp.

Rapp said Duck Creek was high but the water was not out of its banks and the city has a dry dam that they use to control Pond Run to help with flooding. Rapp did say there was some ponding of water in some road, but there was nothing in Vienna that was putting people at risk.

The West Virginia Department of Transportation maintains a website with real-time traffic information, wv511.org. The website did not show any road closures due to high water in Wood, Mason, Jackson, Pleasants or surrounding counties as of Monday afternoon.

Ohio residents did have to deal with some issues due to the high water in the area.

A car makes its way over the Ohio 821 bridge at Lower Salem and over the fast-running Duck Creek Monday morning. Heavy rains have forced the river over its banks at some locations. (Photo by Art Smith)

The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Ohgo app provides current traffic information. It showed that as of 12:51 p.m. Monday, State Route 26 is closed in both directions from Hills Bridge Road to Cow Run Road at mile marker 5.5 due to flooding.

Washington County Sheriff Larry R. Minks Sr. said that there were quite a few roads closed in the county due to high water. Minks said high water in the roads happens every spring in Washington County and that residents are used to it.

He said the county had not encountered any difficulties from the weather, so far.

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s website, the roads closed in Washington County on Monday were: County Road 9 at Hills Bridge Road; Hills Bridge Road at Handschumaker Road; State Route 26 at the 28 mile marker; Jett Hill at County Road 9; Buells Run Road at State Route 821; Whipple Run Road at Kohl Road; Main Street in Macksburg; State Route 821 at mile marker 20; Rainbow Roads at Muskingum Road and State Route 26 from mile marker 6 to mile marker 7.

ODOT District 10 Public Information Officer Ashley Rittenhouse also confirmed that there have been several roads closed in Ohio. District 10 services Washington, Morgan, Athens, Meigs, Noble, Monroe, Gallia and Vincent counties.

A car makes its way towards Marietta on Ohio 821 and past a flooded section of the Devola Multi-Use Trail Monday morning. (Photo by Art Smith)

“So we have definitely been contending with high water on several routes,” she said.

Ritthenhouse said that State Route 26 in Washington was closed and remained so as of Monday afternoon.

Some closed routes were starting to open, but Rittenhouse believed they might be open for just a short time due to the weather forecast calling for more rain.

According to Rittenhouse, there was a landslide on State Route 536 in Monroe County, but that was the only incident like that in District 10 on Monday afternoon.

This landslide forced ODOT to close one lane and put up temporary traffic signals, Rittenhouse said.

Water from a backed-up Whipple Run floods Township 391 a short distance from where it meets Duck Creek. (Photo by Art Smith)

Ohio residents can see what roads are closed by using ODOT’s real-time traffic app, Ohgo, according to Rittenhouse.

Rittenhouse emphasized that when a road is closed, people should never drive around road closure barriers because you never know how deep the water is. It is best to find a different route, she said.

Belpre residents did not contend with high water in their city on Monday. A dispatcher said there have been no weather related calls in the last 24 hours and no road closures in the city.

Belpre Mayor Susan Abdella also confirmed that there were no roads closed in Belpre on Monday afternoon due to high water.

Abdella said there is some standing water in the city that is slow to drain because the ground is saturated, but that overall city crews had done well with the weather.

Marietta Police Captain Aaron Nedeff said that there had not been any high water yet in Marietta and there had been no incidents related to high water on Monday afternoon. He said if the river got up to 32 feet that there might be a street corner underwater in Marietta or that Hunter Avenue may get some water, based on his past experience.

There were water levels in rivers that were above or near flood stage in Washington and Wood counties on Monday.

The National Weather Service reports water levels from gauges located in area rivers on their website.

According to the NWS website, the gauge in the Ohio River at the Marietta Pump House showed the river was at 31.65 feet at 2 p.m. Monday. The NWS forecasted the Ohio River would reach 32 feet at that location by 1 a.m. Tuesday. Flood stage is 35 feet.

The gauge in the Ohio River at Willow Island Lock, showed the river was at 32.38 feet at 2 p.m. Monday. The NWS forecasted the Ohio River would reach 32.8 feet at that location by 1 a.m. on Tuesday. Flood stage is 35 feet, according to the NWS website.

According to the NWS website, the gauge in the Ohio River at Parkersburg showed the river at 31.91 feet at 2 p.m. Monday. The NWS forecasted the Ohio River would reach 32.6 feet at that location by 1 a.m. on Tuesday. Flood stage is 35 feet.

The gauge in the Muskingum River at Beverly showed the river was at 27.67 feet at 1:45 p.m. on Monday. It reached 30.12 feet at 7 p.m. on Sunday. The NWS forecasted the Muskingum River to lower to 26.9 feet by 1 a.m. Tuesday. Flood stage is 29 feet, according to the NWS website.

The gauge in the Little Muskingum River at Bloomfield showed the river was at 20.16 feet at midnight on Monday. It lowered to 11.63 feet at the location at 1:30 p.m. Monday. Flood stage is 16 feet.

This is not the last of the rain for the Mid-Ohio Valley.

According to the NWS website, the forecast for Monday was that any lingering showers would gradually transition into very light sprinkles or flurries through that late afternoon.

The NWS expected a dry overnight, with low level clouds likely lingering into Tuesday morning before finally disappearing. The NWS said a quick-moving system will cross the area Tuesday night into Wednesday, with another round of light mountain snow and mostly rain for the lowlands.

A brief high pressure system will go through the area Thursday ahead of another possible disturbance Friday into Saturday and another round of lowland rain and mountain snow is in the cards, the NWS said.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com

Debris collects Monday morning at Point Park in Parkersburg where the National Weather Service predicts the Ohio River to crest at 32.6 feet around 1 a.m. today. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

Debris collects Monday morning at Point Park in Parkersburg where the National Weather Service predicts the Ohio River to crest at 32.6 feet around 1 a.m. today. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

High water Monday morning from the Ohio River covered the driveway and area surrounding the gazebo at Point Park. The river is expected to crest around 1 a.m. today, according to the National Weather Service. (Photo by Jess Mancini)

Geese swim in a flooded field next to a swollen Duck Creek near Lower Salem. High water in the river caused farm fields to flood throughout the valley. (Photo by Art Smith)