KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been a wet few days in Kansas City and experts are not expecting it to slow down.
Much of the KC metro area was under a flood advisory from the National Weather Service early Thursday morning. Experts are saying rainfall numbers are above normal and are warning about high water and flooding.
“The combination of flooding and high water is very dangerous and very deadly,” said Trent Pittman, with Johnson County Emergency Management.
He says they’re getting a normal amount of water rescue and flood rescue calls so far this year.
“What happens to people is they take the normal route to work, or wherever they’re going, and they see water running over the road, and they think that they can make it through it, when often the rain or the water rushing over the road is deeper than people expect,” Pittman said.
While rain is expected this time of year, Scott Watson, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service says storms are moving over the same areas, causing water levels to be about three inches above normal for this time of year.
“KCI is around 4.5 inches for the month, and the airport in Overland Park is around 6 inches so far this month – so that’s quite a bit above normal, normal precipitation for June is around 5.25 inches, so pretty far above normal so far,” Watson said.
“Right now the ground is very saturated with water, it wouldn’t take a whole lot of extra rainfall to exacerbate the situation,” added Pittman.
Both Watson and Pittman suggest finding an alternate route if an area is flooded.
“Only a foot of water can rush a car down the stream, and only six inches if you’re on foot,” said Watson.
“Turn around, don’t drown, it’s better not to take any chances,” Pittman added.
The National Weather Service is showing a cold front this weekend, meaning another chance for heavy rain and flooding across the metro.
“Flooding is one of the most common hazards in the United States. A lot of people when they think of Kansas they think of tornadoes, while flooding is just as dangerous,” Pittman said.
Watson also says high water often washes roads out, causing holes to form under the water that you won’t be able to see, he says that’s another reason why you should always turn around.
