RAIN ON MY PARADE:
Outages, flooding dampen beginning of holiday weekend
A record 3.5 inches Friday washed out some holiday plans.
With many offices around the metro area closed and many people off work for the extended Fourth of July weekend, Friday’s rain dampened some celebrations.
The National Weather Service at Memphis International Airport recorded a single-day record rainfall for July 3. By midafternoon Friday, the office had recorded 3.5 inches of rain, surpassing the previous record of 1.55 inches in 1989.
The inclement weather caused adjustments in area Independence Day merrymaking.
Horn Lake city officials announced Friday morning they rescheduled their 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular for Sunday at 9 p.m. However, similar municipal celebrations in Collierville, Millington and Hernando were scheduled to commence, rain or shine.
Some Shelby County residents dealt with a lack of electricity to hinder some of their plans for the day. Approximately 7,020 MLGW customers in Frayser and Bartlett experienced power outages during Friday morning thunderstorms.
By late afternoon, the utility company still was working to restore power for almost 3,300 customers without service; the most significant area was in the Sam Cooper corridor near Waring.
Additionally, flooding in DeSoto County led to the closure of Brantley Road between U.S. 61 and Wilson Mill Road in the western section of the county.
Water gushed through gutters throughout the area as cars drove through quick-forming puddles on roads.
Marlene Mickelson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said the rain brought streams and creeks “around bank-full.”
“There’s a few that are very high, such as the creek at Jackson and Stage,” Mickelson said.
The Wolf River near that intersection was at flood stage in midafternoon.
The chance of good weather for the rest of the weekend festivities also was in jeopardy.
According to Mickelson, chances of rain and thunderstorms will continue through Saturday. Mickelson said the heaviest fall of precipitation for the weekend will come during the day with a bit of a break later Saturday night. However, rain is in the forecast well into the following week.