Fast Facts:
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Life-threatening flash flooding returned to the Mississippi and Ohio valleys Friday night and Saturday morning, amid what officials warn could be part of historic flooding for the region.
The National Weather Service issued multiple Flash Flood Emergencies - their most dire flooding alerts - for towns in three states as torrential rains led to life-threatening flooding.
Little Rock, Arkansas was issued its first ever Flash Flood Emergency on Saturday as a severe thunderstorm rolled through with heavy rains and wind gusts of over 65 mph.
Farther north, near the Missouri border, the swollen Warm Fork Spring River wiped out a bridge at Mammoth Spring State Park, leading to a large train derailment across and along the river.
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In Missouri, tens of thousands in Cape Girardeau and Van Buren were under flooding emergency Friday night. Cape Girardeau reported over 3 inches of rain in just over 90 minutes late Friday evening in one burst, with emergency managers reporting at least 10 roads covered in water and ongoing water rescues.
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Forecasters issued similar dire warnings for the Texarkana region of northeastern Texas and southwestern Arkansas where 2-4 inches of rain fell and water rescues were ongoing Friday night as well.
"THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION," NWS officials warned. "SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!"
Highlighting the dangerous weather around the region, there were concurrent Tornado Warnings just 20-40 miles away from the Missouri flood alerts.
Outside the Flash Flood Emeregencies, the National Weather Service offices in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Paducah, Kentucky, highlighted a widespread particularly dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding situation.
A 9-year-old boy in Frankfort, Kentucky was swept away by floodwaters around 6:30 a.m. Friday while he was on his way to the school bus stop in the Hickory Hills area of the city, police said. He was found dead a few hours later.
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was also flooded early Friday morning. City officials told FOX Weather that approximately 60% of the downtown was underwater, and a building had collapsed due to the heavy rain. A woman had to be rescued from floodwaters in her home and another from a car.
Drone video showed much of that flooding remained Friday afternoon. More than 8 inches of rain has fallen in some city areas since Wednesday.
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Hopkinsville officials said that at least 12 people were rescued from flooding early Friday. Mayor James Knight Jr. said this is the worst flooding the town has endured in nearly a decade.
"We haven't seen it since ‘97, ’96, somewhere right there like that," Knight Jr. said during an interview with FOX Weather. "I've lived here all my life. It is something I hope to never see again."
Floodwaters surrounded some homes and inundated cars in Van Lear, Kentucky, prompting the rescue of six people, according to local rescue officials.
More than 7 inches of rain fell earlier this week in western Tennessee, triggering flooding in Nashville. The Nashville Fire Department performed more than a dozen water rescues on Thursday as cars became stuck in floodwaters.
By Thursday afternoon, creeks and rivers had already overflowed their banks in Memphis.
Nashville and Memphis both recorded daily rain records on Thursday. Nashville more than doubled its daily rain record with 3.8 inches of rain, shattering the old record of 1.5 inches from 1977. This was Music City's second-wettest April day on record.
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Flooding was also impacting Indiana, where officials in the City of Shelbyville and Shelby County were encouraging residents in low-lying areas to head to higher ground.
The nearby Big Blue River in Shelbyville was expected to reach at least major flood status over the weekend and peak just shy of the record of 20.2'.
The dire flooding threat stretches through the weekend. Repeating rounds of rainfall will lead to potentially historic amounts, particularly focused on the lower Ohio Valley, mid-South and Ozarks, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
Storm total rain amounts of 5-15 inches are likely and some locations may see up to 20 inches. Rainfall rates of 2 inches per hour or more will lead to rapid onset flash flooding, leaving people caught off guard by the speed of water rises.
A level 4 out of 4 risk for flash flooding remains in effect Saturday for more than 5 million people. In addition, Flood Watches remain in effect for nearly a 1,000-mile stretch that includes parts of 12 states. The amount of rain will also trigger flooding in areas that do not usually flood, according to NWS forecasters.
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"Total rainfall amounts through Sunday could exceed 10 to 15-inch range along and north of I-40," the NWS in Memphis said. "This is not your average flood risk. Generational flooding with devastating impacts is possible."
Nashville forecasters agreed.
"Saturday is the day that concerns me the most right now," said Meteorologist Ryan Husted with the National Weather Service in Nashville. "Because we have time for our atmosphere to recharge, which means we have the potential for dangerous severe thunderstorms once again. In addition, our ground is saturated -- that means any rain that falls will run off and it’s going to cause flooding. I’m very confident that Saturday is a dangerous day for flash flooding going into Saturday night."
Even long after the rain ends on Sunday, the flood impacts will be far from over. All the water will continue to surge into progressively larger streams and rivers across the region.
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