NWS lifts flood warning for parts of central and west central Ohio, but watch remains

The immediate flood threat has passed for parts of central and west central Ohio, but the danger is not entirely over: a Flood Watch covering a wide swath of Ohio and Indiana remains in force through Monday morning.

The National Weather Service lifted its Flood Warning at 1:45 AM EDT for Fayette and Madison counties in central Ohio and Greene County in west central Ohio. The agency cited the end of heavy rain and said flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat — but urged residents to continue heeding any remaining road closures.

The heavy rain has ended. Flooding is no longer expected to pose a threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures.— NWS Wilmington OH

The broader Flood Watch, however, covers a much larger area. The watch extends until 8:00 AM EDT Monday for portions of Indiana — including Dearborn, Fayette, Franklin, Ripley, Union, and Wayne counties — and more than 30 Ohio counties, stretching from Hamilton and Butler in the southwest to Delaware and Licking in the center and Scioto and Adams in the south.

The reason the watch persists: the ground is already saturated from earlier rainfall, and additional showers and thunderstorms are expected to move through the region. Even modest additional rain could trigger flash flooding in rivers, creeks, streams, and low-lying areas, according to NWS.

Residents in watch areas are advised to monitor conditions closely, avoid low-lying areas, and use caution near highway dips and underpasses. A Flash Flood Warning can be issued with little notice if conditions deteriorate rapidly.

Why it matters — Residents across a large portion of Ohio and parts of Indiana remain at risk of flash flooding through Monday morning, and road closures from earlier flooding may still be in place even where the formal warning has lifted.

Reported by weather.gov, meteoblue.com, ready.noaa.gov