Flooding shuts down Odessa; rivers forecast to exceed March levels this weekend

ODESSA - The small town of Odessa lies about halfway between Elm Creek and Kearney. Tuesday morning there was really no way in or out of the town, as Highway 30 was shut down on both sides, and Highway 10-B was closed from the town south to Interstate 80.

July 9, 2019Updated: July 9, 2019
News Channel NebraskaBy News Channel Nebraska
Flooding shuts down Odessa; rivers forecast to exceed March levels this weekend

ODESSA - The small town of Odessa lies about halfway between Elm Creek and Kearney.

Tuesday morning there was really no way in or out of the town, as Highway 30 was shut down on both sides, and Highway 10-B was closed from the town south to Interstate 80.

The flash flood warning issued by the national weather service expired at 9:30 a.m., but the worst may be yet to come.

According to National Weather Service hydrological data, the Wood River in Gibbon is expected to crest at 17.8 feet sometime Thursday afternoon. That would be a new record and about five inches higher than the flooding that pretty much shut down that town in March.

In Alda, the river is expected to crest late Friday/early Saturday at about the same level it reached in March. Meanwhile, the Platte River is expected to crest Friday afternoon in Grand Island at about the same level as it did in March.