This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, April 19, 2013 - City street workers erected the floodwall Friday along the St. Louis riverfront, as members of the Missouri National Guard were mobilized to help sandbagging efforts in Clarksville where the Mississippi River was rising rapidly and expected to crest Monday morning.
The Mississippi, which was at 28.5 feet at St. Louis at 3 p.m. Friday, is expected to crest at 39 feet late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, said hydrologist Mark Fuchs of the National Weather Service in St. Louis. Flood stage at St. Louis is 30 feet.
"It’s going to be up there,’’ Fuchs said.
Next week’s crest could surpass July 1, 2008, when the Mississippi reached 38.67 feet, he said. That was the highest stage since the Great Flood of ’93, when the river rose to just over 49 feet.
The flooding is the result of this week’s heavy rains -- 4 to 6-plus inches – that soaked much of northeast Missouri, northern and west central Illinois and eastern Iowa. Record flooding is predicted along the Illinois River at La Grange, Meredosia and Valley City.
"Along the Illinois River we’re seeing floods of record -- the highest the water has ever been. And the Illinois has gauges that are 100 years or older,’’ Fuchs said.
This spring's flooding differs from 2011, when the Mississippi reached historic levels south of St. Louis, due to major flooding on the Ohio River. The Mississippi crested at just under 35 feet at St. Louis in 2011.
Fuchs said he can’t recall a case where the Mississippi went from "abject drought to major flooding" in a matter of months. The river bottomed out at St. Louis at -4.57 feet on New Year’s Day. Past floods have also followed droughts, but there were several years between the extremes.
"There was no ramping up in this case,’’ Fuchs said. “It just went from real dry to real wet.”
Fuchs noted that the crest forecasts all depend on what happens upriver in the next few days. He doubted that the crests would be higher than those currently predicted but could be lower.
In other flood-related news:
- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday declared a state of emergency and mobilized the National Guard to assist civil authorities in flood relief efforts in Clarksville and other affected communties. The river is expected to crest at Clarksville at 35.7 feet Monday morning. It was at 31.8 feet Friday afternoon.
- In Grafton, Ill., a crest of 30.5 feet is expected Wednesday evening. That would put it at 2008 levels.
- In Chester, Ill., a crest of 41.9 feet is expected Wednesday afternoon, which would be higher than 2011 levels.
- In Illinois, Gov. Patrick Quinn declared 38 counties in northern Illinois disaster areas due to the flooding. Those counties are: Adams, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, Marshall, Mason, McHenry, Mercer, Morgan, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford.
