(CNN) -- Tennessee will get a break Wednesday from heavy storms that have battered the area, though some rivers remain at dangerous levels.
"The next chance of precipitation is not until Friday and that doesn't look like much," said John Cohen, forecaster for the National Weather Service. "So we are very fortunate. Very fortunate indeed."
Still, the weekend deluge in the Southeast has swelled many rivers to historic levels, turned roads to lakes and caused at least 28 deaths.
The rains were especially cruel to Tennessee, killing 19 and immersing landmarks like the Grand Ole Opry.
Parts of Tennessee had been so damaged by the floods that President Obama declared them major disaster areas, a designation that makes federal funding available to affected residents.
Many waterways, like the Cumberland River, rose well past flood level. On Tuesday night, the Cumberland River, which flows through Nashville, was still at 51.8 feet, 11.8 feet above flood stage, the National Weather Service said.
Some residents had little time to prepare for the waters that crashed into homes, washed away roads, prompted evacuations of hotels and displaced thousands of people.
Sherry Qualls watched in horror as chest-deep water washed away her husband and daughter as he tried to save the girl from a rushing creek roaring through their backyard in Linden, Tennessee, on Sunday, according to CNN affiliate WSMV.
"From his neck up, he was staring at me. He didn't say anything, just staring at me. She was screaming for her daddy to help her, and then by the time the rescue squad got her, I didn't see them any more. I didn't see them float away," she told the affiliate.
Their bodies were found the next day, washed almost a mile away, the affiliate reported.
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