ELYRIA — Snowflakes were the sign from above Wednesday that everything would be OK, Tom Kelley said.They meant the floodwaters would recede soon, he said.

Kelley, who runs the county’s Emergency Management Agency, said a sudden dip in temperature caused the snow the start about 4 p.m. — replacing the rain that had threatened to raise the Black River three feet above its banks in some areas.

CHUCK HUMEL / CHRONICLE

The East Falls of the Black River in Elyria raged again Thursday. The river crested above flood stage because of recent rains and the melting snow.

Instead, the water peaked at a little more than a foot and a half above the floodplain, he said — which was still bad enough to fill roadside ditches and swamp fields.

“The ground is the most saturated it’s been in decades,” Kelley said. “I’m sure there’s flooding behind the country club (in Carlisle Township) where we always have problems, but at least we’re not going to deal with the huge problem we thought we’d have.”

The snow caused its own trouble, mixing with water on the road to form a slush that sent cars skidding. The Ohio Highway Patrol tallied 10 wrecks by 10 p.m. Wednesday, though there were no injuries, dispatchers said.

City water crews in Lorain were called out to clear underpasses of icy puddles and pump out standing water, dispatchers said, but otherwise Lorain and Elyria police said they were crash-free late into the night.

The National Weather Service has scaled back its flood warning, but one will remain in effect through midday today.

The Black River’s water level in February was the highest it’s been in 30 years, Kelley said, and residents have battled as water filled streets and basements.

The most recent bout came just in time for National Flood Week, which runs through Friday.

Increased development — roads, shopping complexes, parking lots, even flatter fields — have added to the area’s flood troubles, experts say.

“Everyone contributes to flooding,” said Glen Arnold, a county educator from Putnam County, which has faced more than its share of flooding.

A “once in a hundred years” flood there last August was quickly followed by another whopper in February. Both floods ranked in the top five worst floods in Putnam County since the early 1900s, Arnold said.

Early spring — or, as the snow seems to be arguing, late winter — is especially prone to flooding, Arnold said. Heavy rainfall, frozen ground and melting snow all make March a watery month. Couple that with the trend toward increased flooding, and it spells trouble, Arnold said.

“Flooding is worse now than at any point in the past,” he said.

So what can be done to minimize the damage of flooding? First and foremost, find out if you live in a floodplain, Arnold said.

If you do you should certainly — and are likely required to — have flood insurance.

Contact Michael Baker at 329-7128 or mbaker@chroniclet.com.

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