Storms throughout the day Monday brought high winds and record rainfall to the Omaha-metro area, resulting in flash flooding, power outages, and traffic issues.
About 500 people were still without power Monday evening.
Lots of people risking it through the floodwater.@3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/mL8N17EpFD
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) August 20, 2018
Pershing Drive closed west of 9th Street right outside of Lozier. Two cars are stuck in the high water. @3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/3WbpWMrUmP
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) August 20, 2018
Car reverses because of flooding near 29th St. & Ave G in Council Bluffs. There are barricades up in the area. Steady rain fall continues to pool up - best to avoid areas like this. @3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/v4SXQfIWui
— Shawnte Passmore (@ShawntePassmore) August 20, 2018
As of 12:52 p.m., National Weather Service Omaha had reported more than 5 inches of rain had fallen at Eppley Airfield on Monday.
Flash Flood Warning including Bellevue NE, Papillion NE, La Vista NE until 2:15 PM CDT pic.twitter.com/wRaHVGuxPk
— NWS Omaha (@NWSOmaha) August 20, 2018
Here is a quick look at some of the 24 hour rainfall totals in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area / Pretty impressive / Remember to never cross flooded roadways / #newx #iawx pic.twitter.com/mP5ithqA9w
— NWS Omaha (@NWSOmaha) August 20, 2018
As the storms diminished in the afternoon, not all floodwaters had receded; several intersections around the Omaha-metro remained closed.
RELATED: Bellevue mobile-home park residents say area prone to flooding
16th Street closed north of Storz Expressway right now. Person who works in the area says the water is taking a lot longer to recede.@3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/hjamFAqtbM
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) August 20, 2018
Pershing Drive closed west of 9th Street right outside of Lozier. Two cars are stuck in the high water. @3NewsNowOmaha pic.twitter.com/3WbpWMrUmP
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) August 20, 2018
At 1:30 p.m., NP Dodge Park announced it was closing due to the Missouri River's rising water levels, and that fallen trees and debris had caused parts of Hummel Park to be closed as well.
CHECK: Weather alerts in your area
Due to the flooding rain and the rising Missouri River, we are closing Dodge Park until further notice. Falling trees and debris have also made parts of Hummel Park dangerous. Groups that use the parks and campers with reservations at Dodge have already been notified. pic.twitter.com/5YemVj9ktq
— Jean Stothert (@Jean_Stothert) August 20, 2018
Pottawattamie County residents and business owners were asked to report flood damages to the Emergency Management Agency online, and were encouraged to pick up a "muck-out" cleaning kit from the Red Cross at the agency, located near Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday.
The heavy rainfall in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa also caused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce flow at Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River from 58,000 cubic feet per second to 52,000 cfs. Rainfall and runoff spiked the west Nishnabotna and Missouri rivers in the county, but neither were expected to reach flood stage.
By 4 p.m., high water levels caused the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District to close all Elkhorn River access sites.
Early morning storms brought high winds, flash floods and power outages — affecting households and stoplights — across the Omaha-metro area Monday morning. Omaha, Bellevue and Council Bluffs authorities were reporting flooded roadways and debris throughout the day.
The following areas are currently experiencing flooding w/ barricades in place – please use an alternate route and avoid these areas:
-John J Pershing Dr & Read St to 16th St
-16th St from Read St to Storz Expressway
-John J Pershing Dr from Read St to Abbott Dr@OmahaPolice— Omaha Fire Dept (@OmahaFireDept) August 20, 2018
The City of Bellevue's Parks Department has closed Payne Drive into Haworth Park due to flash flooding in the park as a result of the heavy rain over the last couple of days. pic.twitter.com/IuQynx1L1y
— City of Bellevue (@CityofBellevue) August 20, 2018
Streets in @CityofBellevue are starting to have some minor flooding issues, 22nd and Chandler and Industrial Road are two areas to avoid right now. If you see water over a roadway, consider a different route #TurnAroundDontDrown If you see a street closed sign, DO NOT continue pic.twitter.com/po3DYoV7Ju
— Bellevue Police (@BellevuePolice) August 20, 2018
WARNING:
Streets in the west end are flooding due to the 4+ inches of rain we have received in the last 24 hours.
All crews are out monitoring and checking inlets and closing some intersections.
Please take caution and DO NOT attempt to drive through flooded streets.
— CityofCouncil Bluffs (@CityofCB) August 20, 2018
Crashes impacted travel on Interstate 80. At 9 a.m., OPD had alerted drivers to exchange information for non-injury accidents.
Just before 1 p.m., a jackknifed semi-truck had all eastbound Interstate 80 lanes blocked near Giles Road.
Please be cautious on morning commute. #OPD receving multiple reports of trees down, power lines down, power out to traffic signals, and traffic accidents. Slow down, be aware, and treat non functioning traffic signals as 4 way stops. via @OPDOfcNickerson
— Omaha Police Dept (@OmahaPolice) August 20, 2018
Monday rain totals set a record for most rain on Aug. 20, but fell short of the one-day record.
Interesting fact: The highest EVER 1 day rainfall event at Omaha Eppley is 6.44 inches which occurred on 08/07/1999. So far Eppley is at 6.15 today... Not far to go... It may be a record setting day in many ways! #newx #IAwx
— NWS Omaha (@NWSOmaha) August 20, 2018
Downed trees and winds caused power outages for more than 16,000 Omaha Public Power District customers, the district reported at about 8 a.m. About 45 min later, OPPD was reporting they had restored power to more than 3,000 of those customers. By 10 a.m., 9,833 were still without power — but power had been restored to North High School. At 11:30 a.m., OPPD was reporting about 5,400 customers were still without power. By 1 p.m., that number of customers without power had dropped to about 1,000.
Mid-America Energy Co. also reported outages Monday morning in Council Bluffs; nearly 300 were still without power as of 1:20 p.m.
Outages affected major intersections, like 90th Street and West Dodge Road, during the morning commute.
#TrafficNow -Dodge is a parking lot this morning.
Hopefully you packed your breakfast -- or lunch. Drive safe out there! pic.twitter.com/bH7UoiiD06— MAX TARLTON (@MaxTarlton) August 20, 2018
#TrafficNow - EB Dodge is SO SLOW. Easily give yourself an extra 20 minutes today. pic.twitter.com/brz35WkWwe
— MAX TARLTON (@MaxTarlton) August 20, 2018
"There's a lot of activity at our metro centers as crews have been dispatched and support personnel are securing supplies," OPPD said in a release Monday morning.
The power company was reminding people to stay away from downed power lines, and to report any downed lines to OPPD at 1-800-554-6773, or by calling 9-1-1.
