The Ohio River is expected to crest at moderate flood stage in the early hours of Monday.

According to Maura Casey, with the National Weather Service in Charleston, the river is expected to reach about 58.2 feet at Ashland after a continuous rise of the preceding days.

The river was reported to be at 49.5 feet late Thursday night.

Casey said NWS has confidence in its forecasts, which originate with the Ohio River Forecast Center and are then approved by NWS, for about 72 hours.

She said the coming days will depend on where the axis of heavy precipitation will fall.
Casey said, right now, the rain is expected to fall over Central Ohio and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

She cautioned against inaccurate forecasts that have gone viral on social media, that project well into the future, that are not reliable.

She said the river is at higher flood stages downstream, in the Portsmouth area.

Casey said the nearest reported guage to Ironton on the Ohio is located in Ashland. She said NWS has installed a guage in Ironton that will be active in the near future.