A very wet December coupled with steady rainfall this week has forecasters saying residents should be cautious around low-lying areas near streams and bayous.
December 2018 officially ranks as the second wettest December in history in the Shreveport-Bossier City area with rainfall totaling 11.27 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Only December 1884, with 15.55 inches, ranks higher.
NWS officials said more than 40 inches of rain has fallen in the area since September, saturating the ground.
Rain is expected to continue through Thursday with periods of heavy rain expected in some areas. Flash flood advisories have been issued mostly in parishes east of Bossier and those are due to expire at 6 p.m. Thursday.
Overnight predictions call for the possibility of light snow flurries along the Interstate 20 corridor, but accumulations are expected only in the northern portions of the Ark-La-Tex. Road conditions should not be hazardous but drivers are urged to be cautious, especially in low areas.
Locally, Bossier Parish Police Jury workers are keeping an eye on water levels along the Red River, Red Chute Bayou, Lake Bistineau and Bodcau Bayou. No change is expected in the forecast crest of those bodies of water.
Cypress/Black Bayou closed Thursday afternoon until further notice.
Robert Berry, executive director of the Cypress-Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation District, said the closure includes a mandatory “no boat” zone covering both lakes.
Water level in the lakes has risen above the minimum flood safety level, Berry said. The public will be informed when the closure is lifted.
Robert Berry, executive director of the Cypress-Black Bayou Recreation and
Water Conservation District, said the closure includes a mandatory “no boat” zone
covering both lakes.
Water level in the lakes has risen above the minimum flood safety level, Berry
said. The public will be informed when the closure is lifted.
Cypress/Black Bayou will close Friday until further notice, according to Robert Berry, executive director of the Cypress/Black Bayou Recreation and Water Conservation district. The lakes are expected to crest at 181.5 Friday morning, above the safe level of 181.0, Berry said.
Residents can still pick up sandbags at the Bossier Parish Police Jury maintenance facility on Mayfield St. in Benton from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., or at four locations in the parish where storage containers have been placed.
At the maintenance facility, workers will be available to help load sandbags. Those residents in rural areas of the parish may contact their fire district chief in District 1 and District 2, or the mayors of Plain Dealing and Haughton to gain access to storage containers.
