When can the metro-east expect relief from the rain? Here’s the latest forecast

The metro-east can expect to see rain fall through most of the afternoon, but with less veracity than the overnight and early morning hours, according to the National Weather Service of St. Louis.

Ben Herzog, a meteorologist with the NWS, said the area likely will see another quarter inch of rain through the rest of the morning and afternoon hours.

“We’re going to see rain continue to fall over the next few hours, but, fortunately, it will be much lighter than what we saw overnight and this morning,” he said.

Herzog said the metro-east can expect to see scattered showers between noon and 4 p.m., and that the rain should be completely out of the area by 4 p.m.

“Some areas will see scattered showers, some areas won’t ... but 4 p.m. is a good estimate for when the rain will be completely out of the area,” Herzog said.

Herzog also expects flooding to start tapering off as the day progresses and said the roads will become safer to drive on.

“Plenty of areas are still experiencing flooding and any rain that falls won’t help,” he said. “But I’d be surprised if we have any new flooding given how light the rain is. The rain really tapers off through the day. The water should start flowing into streams. The water that’s stuck on the road will have somewhere to go. Things should start getting better.”

Nevertheless, Herzog noted ongoing flooding is taking place at that people should take caution if they encounter any flood waters.

“If you’re driving and come across flooded waters don’t drive through it,” he said. “You don’t know how deep the water is. Even if you’ve driven on that road 100 times ... maybe it’s washed out the road. Even if it hasn’t, it only takes 6 inches to float a car. Turn around, don’t drown.”

Herzog also cautioned against walking in flooded areas.

“Don’t try to wade in the flood waters. That’s very dangerous too,” he said.

As far as amounts, Herzog said the heaviest strip of rainfall ran from East St. Louis right across the river from downtown St. Louis over toward near Okawville.

“If was a fairly narrow strip, but that produced somewhere between 5 and 7 inches of rain,” Herzog said. “Belleville was smack dab in the middle of the heaviest band; the radar estimates 5-7 inches.”

He provided these additional estimates as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday:

• Granite City: 3-5 inches
• Edwardsville: Around 3 inches
• Millstadt: 3-5 inches
• Waterloo: 1-2 inches

“These are all radar estimates,” Herzog said. “We’re still in the process of collecting data.”

At the moment, Herzog said parts of Monroe, Madison and St. Clair counties remain under flash flood warnings. He said these may transition over to flood warnings soon, but that a decision has not yet been made on that.

He added a flood warning has been issued that includes the southeastern half of Clinton County and Washington County.

“The quick hitting part is over,” Herzog said. “But there’s still water over plenty of state highways. I suspect most of our flash flood warnings will transition to flood warnings.”

The National Weather Service recommends keeping plugged into the forecast as it develops at www.weather.gov. Their Facebook page is www.facebook.com/NWSStLouis.

This story was originally published July 26, 2022 at 11:17 AM.