March 8, 2021 - Flooding in the Ohio River Valley

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   Flooding in the Midwest USA
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   Heavy rain pelted the Ohio River Valley as February gave way to March
   2021, leading to swollen rivers and flooding. According to The Weather
   Channel, the rains, which started in late February, triggered flooding
   from Arkansas to Maryland, with nearly 400 reports of flooding received
   in just three days. The most dramatic flooding occurred in sections of
   Kentucky. The South Fork of the Kentucky River near Booneville,
   Kentucky, topped the previous record crest, which was set in January
   1957. Bowling Green, Kentucky set a record high daily rainfall of 5.11
   inches in 24 hours on February 28, smashing the previous record of 1.90
   inches, set in 1903. It also set the highest rainfall ever in the month
   of February for that location, with the previous record of 3.75 set on
   February 23, 1975.

   On March 4, 2021, the skies over the region had cleared but water
   levels were still rising, especially in the Ohio River. As the Ohio
   poured into the Mississippi River at Cairo, Kentucky, the high volume
   of water also swelled the Mississippi. The Moderate Resolution Imaging
   Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a
   false-color image of the region on that same day. In this type of
   image, which contrasts water from landcover, vegetation appears bright
   green and water appears deep blue. Open land appears tan and where
   vegetation is sparse or patchy (such as agricultural fields), the color
   may appear greenish-tan. From north and moving clockwise, the states
   seen in this image includes Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee,
   northern Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri. The swollen Ohio River is
   evident in the northeastern portion of the image. The Mississippi River
   flows southward from the northwest. The Ohio River flows south and then
   curves west to meet the Mississippi at Cairo.

   While an individual image may give an impressive view of the flooding
   on a single day, even more information can be gained by comparing views
   from different days. Thanks to the NASA Worldview app, such comparisons
   are simple. To compare an Aqua MODIS image from February 3 (before the
   flooding) to this one acquired on March 4, click  here

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Aqua
   Date Acquired: 3/4/2021
   Resolutions:  1km (202 KB),  500m (541.9 KB),  250m (1.1 MB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-03-08
 
