Flash Flood Emergencies in Jackson, MS

24 Aug 2022, 8:01 pm

JACKSON, MS – Torrential rainfall has lead to significant flooding and a life-threatening situation in the state of Mississippi days after historical flooding impacted the state of Texas. Our field crews have been out following the stories unfolding with this extreme event.

Field Meteorologist Brett Adair was on the scene as an assisted living facility was being evacuated after a creek swelled out of its banks, inundating the nursing home. Over forty residents were safely evacuated.

Watch as this elderly couple uses ropes to walk to safety in flood waters in Mississippi. Water rescues are ongoing and roadways are shut down because of flooding along the I-20 corridor today #MSwx pic.twitter.com/iO8BDNuhR0

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 24, 2022

According to our Field Correspondent Jonathan Petramala, westbound I-20 between Forest and Morton is having passenger cars go the opposite direction on the shoulder of the interstate because of impassable roadways and huge gridlock on both sides of the highway can be seen for miles.

I-20 is in complete Gridlock in Forest, MS right now, in fact, drivers are being asked to turn around and go the wrong way on I-20 WB in Mississippi to avoid flooding. @jpetramala has more pic.twitter.com/YHM7V5yv80

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 24, 2022

Flash Flood Emergency

All Flash Flood Emergency alerts have been allowed to expire. Earlier today, Hinds and Rankin County were under these extreme alerts after 6 to 10 inches of rainfall fell in less than 24 hours. Scott County also had an Emergency, which has since expired.

Jonathan Petramala was later in in Forest, Mississippi and reported the water having a swift current, like a river.

WeatherNation Field Correspondent Jonathan Petramala reports from knee-deep water in Forest, MS.

Extreme rainfall has caused a Flash Flood Emergency, the rarest and highest level of flash flood alert. He describes the water has having a swift current, like a river.#MSwx #flood pic.twitter.com/l1GPfKwKke

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 24, 2022

Take a look at some of the scenes observed near Canton Mississippi where ongoing rainfall is not expected to let up creating an ongoing flood threat.

Extreme amounts of #rain have fallen in Mississippi, some areas are seeing #catastrophic damage resulting in people having no other choice than to seek higher ground wherever they can.

Please stay safe! #mswx #flooding pic.twitter.com/9279neg8vZ

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) August 24, 2022

Records

This flooding event has been one for the record books with Jackson, Mississippi receiving 5.05″ on Wednesday, the previous record being 1.75″ in 2008.
This also brings Jackson’s monthly rainfall to a new August record with 11.57″ in 2022 compared to the old record of 11.51″ in 2008.

Stay with WeatherNation as we continue to bring you the latest on the flooding on-air and online, streaming 24/7.

About the author

Kit Thomas

Kit grew up in the Piedmont of North Carolina outside of Charlotte, spending most of his childhood in Belmont, an old mill town on the Catawba River now grown into a bustling suburb. He had a passion for mathematics and science through grade school, having ambitions to become an architect, engineer, theoretical/astrophysicist, or geologist, but eventually choosing to pursue Meteorology. He went to... Load More the University of North Carolina at Charlotte to obtain his degree, taking all electives on atmospheric sensing, tropical, and mesoscale meteorology for a full, in-depth understanding of the atmosphere (though he maintains on every hike, he should have taken more geology classes!) He interned at WCNC in Charlotte, learning the craft of presenting off-script and how to tell a weather story. After Graduation, he worked in the Quad Cities at WHBF-TV and KLJB-TV, the CBS/Fox affiliates. From there, he moved to Grand Island, Nebraska at KSNB-TV, the NBC affiliate for Central Nebraska. The active winters and severe seasons kept him busy, experiencing a wide range of wild weather. He remembers the most impactful event in March of 2019, when a massive snowmelt, heavy rain, and blizzard all struck the state in 36 hours. Kit later moved to the Denver area taking a job as a Producer with WeatherNation. He was brought on as a full-time on-air meteorologist in June of 2022 and can now be seen with the rest of the team on WeatherNation! He and his husband enjoy travelling together and exploring Colorado's many trails. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter @KitThomasWX.