Due to rainfall in the Ohio Valley beginning Wednesday of last week, the Ohio River was projected to crest within “action stage” at approximately 29 feet early today, according to the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office.

Ohio and Marshall counties’ emergency management agencies are prepared for flooding caused by high river levels. Since last week, the organizations have been cleaning up fallen trees and mudslides caused by recent storms.

Ohio County EMA Director Lou Vargo said no flooding was reported in the county as of Sunday evening. Ohio River levels were projected to reach the action stage at 2 a.m. today in Wheeling.

Flood stage at Wheeling is 36 feet.

Vargo said the agency was watching the forecast “very closely” on Sunday if increased rainfall caused the Ohio River to crest higher than predicted.

“The river levels are actually tracking below the prediction curve, but we’re watching very closely to make sure there are no changes, especially if there are any heavy rains in our watershed in Pennsylvania,” Vargo said.

“Whether or not we reach a more severe flooding stage all depends on whether there’s rain up in Pennsylvania where our watershed starts.”

With no heavy rain on the forecast for Sunday night and Monday morning, Vargo said the predicted rainfall for the area was insufficient for the Ohio River to reach the minor flooding stage. Vargo said the river would most likely crest at action stage on Monday and continue to go down early next week.

Vargo has spoken with Wheeling Fire Department Chief Jim Blazier to prepare in case of flooding. He added that the Ohio County EMA’s Swift Water Teams have checked their equipment and are prepared to respond.

Vargo added that some trees had fallen in the Ohio Valley due to last week’s storms. This led to power outages in the area, which American Electric Power corrected.

Marshall County Office of Emergency Management Director Tom Hart said areas of the county experienced minor stream flooding due to the 3½ inches of rainfall that hit the area beginning Wednesday of last week. He noted that the heaviest rainfall occurred Wednesday into Thursday, with 1½ inches of rainfall over a 12-hour period.

Hart reported flooding on Fish Creek, Big Wheeling Creek, Little Grave Creek, Middle Grave Creek, and Big Grave Creek Roads. Flooding on roadways resulted in road closures throughout the county until the streams receded.

The rainfall over the last week also led to a mudslide on Caldwell Hill Road, which, according to Hart, closed the road for “a few hours” early last week. Another mudslide on a section of Fork Ridge Road has left the area closed off for “an undetermined amount of time.”

“The Department of Highways says that area is going to be closed for an undetermined amount of time because the hillside keeps coming down, so they’re going to have to bring in additional equipment to get that mitigated,” Hart said.

Marshall County also experienced up to 700 power outages in the middle of last week due to heavy winds from storms. Hart said that AEP restored power to these areas “fairly quickly.”

Hart said that bodies of water in the county had “pretty much all receded back within their banks” over the past couple of days. He noted that as of Sunday, Big Wheeling Creek was still receding on several “very low-lying areas.”

“We’re just anticipating a little bit of change in the weather — we’re still having some precipitation today,” Hart said Sunday. “There’s a potential for some snow and sleet overnight, so it sounds like we’re heading back to winter in the next couple of days.”