DOWN|Rain swells Big Black, ushers in a chill

High water and recent storm damage inconvenienced more than a few Vicksburg and Warren County residents and businesses Friday. Also, temperatures took a tumble.

For farmers, the damage will take longer to assess — and recover from.

“There will be some acres of soybeans that will actually be destroyed because of flooding along the Big Black,” Warren County Extension director John Coccaro said. “It’s a real shame to nurture a crop all the way to the very end of the season and then lose it.”

Coccaro said soybeans will also be lost in the northern part of the county from rain swelling the Yazoo River. “We estimate about 20,000 acres of soybeans were planted in the county this year,” he said. Local farmers think about 4,000 to 5,000 acres will be lost by late-season rains and flooding, he said.

At the east end of Warriors Trail near U.S. 80 in Bovina Friday, several feet of water from the Big Black River backwash flooded the roadway passing under the railroad trestle, closing the road.

Residents wanting to head east on U.S. 80 were faced with backtracking miles out of the way because of the impassable road.

Power outages were also reported in three areas of the city and county.

About 72 customers in the Rifle Range Road and Annandale Drive areas and along Confederate Avenue were without electricity Friday afternoon, said Entergy spokesman Don Arnold. Rifle Range in the southern part of the county and Annandale in the north. Confederate is in the city.

Some Rifle Range customers, including at least one business, were without power from about 4 a.m., Arnold said.

“A tree fell and took 12 spans of wire with it, like a domino effect,” he said. The area is served by lines from the Iowa Boulevard substation and the wires that were torn out pass through a wooded area that can be accessed only with a bulldozer, he added.

The Annadale Drive and Confederate Avenue outages occurred around 1:30 p.m., Arnold said, from undetermined causes.

Crews were out and power was expected to be restored by late Friday afternoon, he said.

Cool temperatures and overcast skies added to Friday’s gloom, but sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60s and lower 70s were forecast for today and Sunday. More rain could be on the way, however.

More than 9 inches have fallen on Vicksburg this month. Normal rainfall for all of October is 2.84 inches.

Flood warnings in Bovina around the Big Black have been part of weather reports all week. Friday, the Big Black at Bovina was at 37.1 feet, more than 9 feet over flood stage. The forecast for today was 36.7 feet with a slow fall to 36.2 feet Sunday and 35.8 feet Monday, the National Weather Service predicted.

Some nearby farmers had begun harvesting soybean crops Thursday, Coccaro said, but had to stop with Thursday’s storms, which included a tornado watch for Warren and other counties.

“It’s kind of been a tough year for farmers,” Coccaro said. “We had a spring flood of the Mississippi River last year that was horrendous, and this year another spring flood that destroyed corn that had been planted and was already up.”

Some of that acreage was replanted with the crop now being threatened.

“They really need sunshine and dry weather right now, not just to harvest but also to keep the crop from deteriorating,” he added, which can happen quickly to a mature crop.

Showers could return Monday or Tuesday, about a 20 to 30 percent chance. Wednesday’s outlook is sunshine with a high of 78 degrees.

Rain has raised the Mississippi River, but not dangerously. The river at Vicksburg was at 34 feet Friday and expected to fall over the next few days. Flood stage is 43 feet.

In April 2008, the river at Vicksburg reached a high of 50.9 feet. This year it also topped flood stage, cresting at 47.5 feet in late May.

The average normal temperature for today is 64 degrees. The record high was 89, set in 2003, and the low was 35, set in 1917.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com