An SUV travels Old St. Marys Pike Wednesday as it avoids floodwaters from Worthington Creek, which had overflowed its banks. (Photo by Jeff Baughan)

Heavy rains hit throughout the area Wednesday with high water reported in areas of Wood and Washington counties.

The National Weather Service in Charleston reported that by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, 1-1.7 inches of rain had fallen in Washington County while a quarter of an inch (in the Wadesville-Walker area) to 1.8 inches (in Williamstown) fell in parts of Wood County, said Simone Lewis, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Lewis said a low pressure system from the South brought moisture from the Gulf of Mexico that resulted in the rainfall on Wednesday.

A cold front will be moving into the area today bringing the possibility of more showers and thunderstorms, Lewis said.

Water was standing on the grounds of Belpre Elementary School when children were dropped off Wednesday morning. The school elected to dismiss students being picked up by family members from the Stone Administration Building closer to Rockland Avenue in the afternoon.

Elsewhere in Washington County, high water was reported Wednesday afternoon on portions of Veto Road north of Belpre, on Ohio 60 along the Muskingum River near mile marker 5 and a handful of other locations. Sheriff Larry Mincks said the affected spots were the usual low-lying areas impacted first by high water, but the only problems that had been reported were some detours.

National Weather Service projections show the Ohio River level continuing to rise through the weekend but not reaching flood stage at Parkersburg or Marietta.

The river was at 24 feet Wednesday afternoon at Parkersburg and predicted to pass 31 feet Saturday afternoon. The flood level is 36 feet.

In Marietta, the Ohio River was closing in on 21 feet Wednesday afternoon, with a crest of about 30 feet expected Saturday, below the 35-foot flood stage.

The Muskingum River level crossed the action stage of 26 feet Wednesday afternoon, with an anticipated crest of 28.8 feet– slightly below the 29-foot flood stage — Friday afternoon and evening.

Wood County 911 Director Rick Woodyard said a lot of the heavy rain hit to the north of Parkersburg.

”We can expect waters to rise in the area,” he said. ”We already have high waters in some creeks and tributaries (as of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday).”

A flood watch remains in effect through 1 p.m. today for Boone, Cabell, Calhoun, Doddridge, Gilmer, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Pleasants, Putnam, Ritchie, Roane, Tyler, Wayne, Wirt and Wood counties, the weather service reported.

”The combination several rounds of moderate to heavy rain, and already saturated soils, may cause flooding,” the flood watch warning stated. ”Expect to see strong rises on creeks and small streams, and, eventually rises on major rivers.”