The rise of Bayou Vermilion near Carencro on Monday is really remarkable. This chart shows the rapid increase in the water level from just under 8′ when the rain began Monday morning, to a crest of 22.5′ by Monday night. The blue line throughout the week shows the gradual decrease in water levels. I do mean gradual. At 4 PM, the stage was still 20.54′, in the Moderate flood category and still more than three feet above the 17′ flood stage. Breaking down the numbers hour-by-hour is even more eye-opening. Look at this:
Observed Data:
|Date(UTC)| |Stage| |–Flow-|
03/13 03:30 22.5ft 3.96kcfs
03/13 03:00 22.5ft 3.96kcfs
03/13 02:30 22.49ft 3.95kcfs
03/13 02:00 22.49ft 3.95kcfs
03/13 01:30 22.48ft 3.95kcfs
03/13 01:00 22.46ft 3.93kcfs
03/13 00:30 22.43ft 3.9kcfs
03/13 00:00 22.39ft 3.87kcfs
03/12 23:30 22.35ft 3.83kcfs
03/12 23:00 22.26ft 3.76kcfs
03/12 22:30 22.21ft 3.72kcfs
03/12 22:00 22.15ft 3.67kcfs
03/12 21:30 22.08ft 3.61kcfs
03/12 21:00 22ft 3.55kcfs
03/12 20:30 21.89ft 3.46kcfs
03/12 20:00 21.81ft 3.39kcfs
03/12 19:30 21.69ft 3.3kcfs
03/12 19:00 21.5ft 3.15kcfs
03/12 18:30 21.3ft 3.01kcfs
03/12 18:00 21.15ft 2.9kcfs
03/12 17:30 20.97ft 2.78kcfs
03/12 17:00 20.77ft 2.65kcfs
03/12 16:30 20.51ft 2.49kcfs
03/12 16:00 20.13ft 2.27kcfs
03/12 15:30 19.51ft 1.97kcfs
03/12 15:00 18.39ft 1.53kcfs
03/12 14:30 16.63ft 0.953kcfs
03/12 14:00 14.56ft 0.535kcfs
03/12 13:30 12.17ft 0.312kcfs
03/12 13:00 9.72ft 0.184kcfs
03/12 12:30 9.22ft 0.157kcfs
03/12 12:00 8.93ft 0.145kcfs
03/12 11:30 8.67ft 0.137kcfs
03/12 11:00 8.41ft 0.13kcfs
03/12 10:30 8.2ft 0.124kcfs
03/12 10:00 8.01ft 0.119kcfs
03/12 09:30 7.88f 0.115kcfs
03/12 09:00 7.81ft 0.113kcfs
03/12 08:30 7.78ft 0.112kcfs
03/12 08:00 7.77ft 0.112kcfs
03/12 07:30 7.76ft 0.112kcfs
03/12 07:00 7.76ft 0.112kcfs
03/12 06:30 7.75ft 0.111kcfs
03/12 06:00 7.75ft 0.111kcfs
03/12 05:30 7.74ft 0.111kcfs
Between 8 AM (13:00 UTC) and 9 AM, the water rose nearly FIVE FEET! Over the next hour, the water rose almost another FOUR FEET! To be exact, the water rose 8.67′ between 8 AM and 10 AM. Much of that water is still covering parts of Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Acadia parishes. Obviously there are some drainage issues at play, likely from a build-up of organic materials and quite likely, debris from houses and businesses. With such factors, predicting when the water will completely recede is nearly impossible. Given the slow rate of decline, some areas may see standing water well into next week.