The Mississippi is finally below flood stage, but not before obliterating a record
After 127 days of consecutive flooding, the Mississippi River at St. Louis fell below flood stage Saturday morning.
The Mississippi has been flooded since March 16, according to the St. Louis Branch of the National Weather Service, shattering the Great Flood of 1993’s record of 104 days.
That sustained flooding caused more than $33 million in damage to the metro-east, according to St. Clair, Madison and Monroe county emergency management agencies.
Those costs could rise. While the river is out of flood stage at St. Louis, several roads are still underwater and the river at Alton and Grafton are still in minor flood stage.
This year’s flooding was historical due to the longevity of the flooding and also the heights reached by the Mississippi, Illinois and Kaskaskia rivers. The high water mark for the Mississippi River at St. Louis, reached on Saturday, June 8, was 46.02 feet, the second-highest recorded crest.
This story was originally published July 22, 2019 at 10:50 AM.