Crook County sees no river flood threat; sandbags offered

Crook County’s emergency manager said Tuesday the latest weather forecasts hold expected rainfall below the point that should trigger river flooding. But with plenty of snow on the ground, the county is making sandbags available, starting Tuesday afternoon.

Here’s the statement from Michael Ryan, emergency manager with the Crook County Sheriff’s Office:

“Last week the National Weather Service released a precautionary weather statement about warm weather and heavy rain with localized flooding this week. Many media outlets, including our own media releases, advised residents to remove snow from their roofs as a precaution, in the event of heavy rain.

This morning at 9am during the NWS morning briefing the weather forecast for the Prineville area call for the following:

Tuesday : Wind 9-18mph, freezing rain turning to rain with .16 to .25″, mostly in the evening.

Wednesday : Wind 9-18mph, Rain .25 to .50″ morning and afternoon, tapering off overnight.

Thursday : Wind 8-13mph, Rain less than .25″ in the morning, with a trace in the afternoon

Snow level during this rain event will raise to the 6000-foot elevation during the morning hours on Wednesday lowering to 4,500 feet in the afternoon and evening.

With this information we see n o rainfall amounts that would cause river flooding . However, it is possible to see localized ponding of water in areas of poor drainage or blocked drains.

To this end, Crook County will be providing a self-service sandbag location at the Crook County Fairgrounds 1280 SE Main St. Prineville, from 1 p.m. today until 4 p.m. and again on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.”