By Fallan Patterson

Staff Writer

As residents continue drying out after a weather system dropped as much as a foot of rain more than a week ago on some parts of the region, the National Weather Service in Melbourne is cautioning much of Central Florida – including parts of Osceola County – to brace for potential additional heavy rain through Wednesday morning.

In its latest projection, the agency, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is estimating that as much as three inches of rain could fall on the region over a two-day period.

While the storms expected due to a cold front moving south through the Florida peninsula interacting with tropical moisture flowing northeast from the Caribbean won't produce the kind of rainfall seen Oct. 8-9, weather service meteorologist Peggy Glitto said she is keeping close watch on Shingle Creek, local lakes and canals that are already “at capacity” in Osceola County.

Shingle Creek near Campbell City was under a flood warning for most of last week as water levels slowly overflowed the banks and flooded yards and pastures. Residents should take the same protective measures knowing what they're vulnerability is, Glitto said.

Flood watches and warnings may be issued again if rainfall becomes excessive, the weather service website stated.

The South Florida Water Management District, which controls Osceola County's waterways, in a Friday press release said the rainfall over the weekend of Oct. 8-9 was the heaviest the Kissimmee River basin had seen in 100 years.

“Our big challenge is to ready the flood control system for another potentially large rainfall event while continuing to alleviate high water from the heaviest rain in nearly 100 years over the Kissimmee area,” Tommy Strowd, agency director of the operations, maintenance and construction division, said. “We are exploring every option to operate the system at its maximum safe capacity to protect 7.7 million residents while also ensuring the integrity of the system itself.”

Locks were opened as much as possible last week to allow the excess water to flow south toward Lake Okeechobee.

Those residents who experienced flooding and live near waterways and lakes should move property to higher ground if possible, Glitto said, and keep informed of weather developments through radio, news and websites such as www.noaa.gov.

Due to the high water last week, the county closed Steffee Landing Park on West U.S. Highway 192, the boat ramps at Lake Cypress and Lake Marian, the Kempfer Road/bridge and the intersection of Lake Marian Road at Peavine Trail. County officials at the time said rising water had reached levels high enough to cover posts, rails and other objects that are hazardous to people and boats.

In addition, the water district closed the Kissimmee River to navigation because of the high water and the dangers it poses to boaters.

Residents may find information about any current county closures on the County’s Community Safety website at mysafety.osceola.org. For more information, contact Deputy Fire Rescue Chief Danny McAvoy at 321-624-0289.