Rukavina's Extreme Weather and Climate Blog

Friday Evening Update: Forecast River levels along the Ohio River at Paducah and Cairo have been lowered by around two feet. According to the City of Paducah, these lower levels will allow the city to keep from putting in additional flood gates. The Army Corps of Engineers is also more optimistic about not having to operate the Birds Point Floodway. Here is a look at the Ohio River with an aerial view this afternoon . Vide o courtesy of UAVRG Friday Morning Update: From the Birds Point New Madrid Floodway Information Center: "Info from Thursday evening's Public Meeting with Congressman Jason Smith, Corps of Engineers leaders and local residents at Charleston, Mo. The National Weather Service has revised the forecasted river crest at Cairo, Ill., downward to 57.5 feet on Jan. 4 - good news for everyone." The Red Cross shelter in Cape Girardeau continues to accept evacuees. With lower water levels projected for Cairo, IL, the likelihood of activating the Birds Po

Photo Credit: Cody Duty - Houston Chronicle - AP A follow-up post to the original, " The Future of Flash Flood Warnings ." Flash flooding has claimed scores of lives across the U.S. in 2015. Twenty-six major disaster declarations have been made in the name of FLOODING. As heavy downpours increase in frequency, millions of people will be susceptible to this rapid impact natural disaster. El Nino may also contribute to an increase in events in the next several months for parts of the country. The New Year's Flood in the Mississippi River Sandbagging efforts along MS River - Photo: Michael Kelley Valley is the most recent example of how a single event can take lives and destroy property with very little in the way of time to react.  You can prepare people as much as humanly possible but until it impacts them specifically, you are sort of speaking and dealing with the unknown. Our region is no stranger to extreme river flooding and flash flooding (urban) e

Climate Central - State of KY Report Card - Full Report For the first time Climate Central released report cards featuring how well each of the 50 states prepares for current hazards and future climate change. A closer look reveals relatively bad grades for states in the Local 6 area. Missouri was at the bottom of the 4-state area coming in with a grade of "F". Kentucky and Illinois followed with a grade of "D" while Tennessee earned highest marks in the region with a "C". The nearly failing grades in Kentucky showed up when looking at future disasters, planning, and long-term preparedness statewide.  The graphic above shows the breakdown of the grades assigned to the different climate related disasters deemed future risks. The same study/grading showed Kentucky actually scoring very well as it relates to disaster response. Climate Central identified two programs outlining action already taken: Kentucky’s Enhanced Hazard Mitigation Plan, technical