Lots of rain, but numbers still below last year
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, January 3, 2017
The soggy New Year’s holiday dumped lots of water on South Alabama, and the trend is expected to continue later this week.
At 3:30 p.m. Monday, the Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Water Management Authority had recorded more than four inches of rain in the previous 72 hours on the Yellow River at Hwy. 84, and 1.28 inches on the Yellow River at Hwy. 55.
The river is well below flood stage.
The Choc-Pea Authority recorded 7.52 inches of rain on the Yellow River at Hwy. 55 in December, compared to 10.08 inches in December of 2015, when the area saw road damage and flooding on Christmas day.
Similarly, 7.53 inches of rain was recorded in December on the Yellow River at Hwy. 84, compared to 16.33 inches in the same period last year.
All told, rainfall was down significantly in 2016. In the 12 months of 2016, 52.24 inches of rain was recorded on the Yellow River at Hwy. 55.
On the Yellow River on Hwy. 84, 54.24 inches was recorded in 2016, compared to 69.53 inches in 2015 in the 11 months in which the Authority collected data there.