Some roads in north Jefferson County are still closed, after heavy rains inundated the area on Christmas Eve and afterward.

The rains sent streams and rivers out of their banks, causing flash floods in low-lying areas. As those waters receded, they flowed downstream to Black Creek, Turkey Creek and Five Mile Creek, and then on to the Locust Fork of the Warrior River.

The United States Geological Survey’s gauge at Sayre on the Locust Fork peaked at just over 37 feet at midday Sunday; that’s well above flood stage, which is 25 feet. The levels did not go below flood stage until Monday, and leveled off at around 22 feet as that day’s additional rains added to existing levels.

At least three roads were closed Tuesday as road crews continued to clean up hard-hit areas.

The closure that may take the longest to reopen is Rouse Road, about a mile north of Warrior Jasper Road. The closure is due to the partial collapse of a dam near the road that holds back Lillian Lake. The road is currently undamaged, but if the dam gives way, anything or anyone in the water’s path could be in danger.

“Our staff has spoken with the owner of the dam, and he says they’re going to fix it,” said Jefferson County Engineer Tracy Pate, the interim director of the county’s roads and transportation department.

Pate added that the closure could remain for at least a couple of weeks, because water levels must drop to allow contractors to have room to repair the damaged dam.

A washout has White Road closed in the 3300 block near Corner. Pate said her crews hope to have that repaired fairly quickly, but they are short-handed because of the holidays.

“We’ve called in everyone we can, but many of our people are out of state for Christmas,” she said.

The city of Pinson has had longstanding issues with flooding along Dry Creek in its old business district, and those problems were evident over the weekend. Several businesses had floodwaters as high as three feet in their buildings, according to Mayor Hoyt Sanders.

“Most of the structures between Dry Creek and Clayton Street got about 10 inches,” Sanders said. “Those in the lowest part of Main Street had more.”

Some houses on Oak Circle and Sweeney Hollow Road also had water damage, with a couple of houses taking on water as high as three feet, Sanders said. Many roads were closed in Pinson on Friday and Saturday, including Pinson Blvd. (Center Point Road) at Sweeney Hollow Road, and Pinson Valley Parkway at Alabama Highway 151.

“The fortunate thing for Pinson is that when we do have flooding, it doesn’t linger,” Sanders said. “But this was probably the worst flooding since 2001, just before we incorporated as a city, and it’s certainly the worst since incorporation. This was a significant flood event all over town.”

A project by the Federal Emergency Management Agency about 15 years ago to buy out flood-prone properties along Sweeney Hollow helped stem some problems this time around, Sanders said.

In Warrior, a mudslide measuring up to nine inches closed Warrior Trafford Road. Mayor Johnny Ragland said that the slide was partly caused by logging going on next to the site, and dirt roads used by logging trucks washed down into the roadway.

“We had three different slides, and our backhoe gave out while we working the last time. FEMA sent us some help,” Ragland said. “We also had a water rescue at the bottom of the hill near the slide. A car was washed 30 feet down Coaldale Creek, and we had to get two people out.”

Fultondale Police reported that Whaley Road was still closed Tuesday as crews finished repairs on a culvert. The closure is just off Decatur Highway, next to Just Rite Printing. Fultondale’s Children’s Park, which lies close to Black Creek, was also under water for a time.

Gardendale Mayor Stan Hogeland said that floodwaters closed Fieldstown Road west of Interstate 65 and Shady Grove Road — two flood-prone areas — but otherwise the city was relatively unharmed.

The flooding came as part of a storm system that arrived on Christmas Eve, and carried on in waves through Monday. The system brought tornadoes that caused fatalities in Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee and Arkansas; a twister rated EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale destroyed several structures along Jefferson Ave. in Birmingham, in an area just south of Midfield.

Another storm system is expected to go through central Alabama on Wednesday, bringing as much as two additional inches of rain. No flash flooding is expected, but rivers may flood may occur again as runoff reaches them.