Flooding in the metro-east continues, could approach 1993 river levels
While the Mississippi River continues to rise, the next expected crest could put this year’s flooding in the metro-east second only to that of the Great Flood of 1993.
Heavy rain over Memorial Day weekend caused the river level to spike, with the National Weather Service now forecasting the river to reach its second-highest level ever—14 feet above flood stage on June 4—near St. Louis. Though no major damage is expected on the Missouri side, riverfront towns in Illinois are struggling to keep up.
In 1993, the Great Flood wiped out entire towns, like Valmeyer, and caused Grafton to lose almost half its population.
The NWS forecast called for more severe thunderstorms to develop over the eastern Plains and move across Missouri Tuesday and have issued a watch for parts of Iowa and central Illinois.
On Tuesday, the water level was at 31.66 feet in Grafton. In just one week, it’s expected to crest at 35.5 feet, the NWS reports. The record there is 38.2 inches on Aug. 1, 1993.
Due to the river levels, businesses in Grafton remain closed and planned events have been forced to be postponed. Replicas of Christopher Columbus’ ships, the Nina and the Pinta, which were scheduled to arrive in Grafton on June 6, have been delayed. They plan to land there when the river levels recede.
In Alton, the river had reached 35.33 feet on Tuesday, according to the NWS. By June 4, it’s expected to crest at 38.5 feet, about 4 feet less than its record height of 42.7 feet on Aug. 1, 1993.
The Illinois Department of Transportation had closed Illinois 100 from U.S. 67 to Illinois 16 near Alton due to flooding on Sunday. The highway has been closed from Illinois 16 to the Pike County line near Hardin for almost a month. In addition, Illinois 155 has been closed from Laurent Road to Fish Lake Road near Prairie Du Rocher.
Perry County Administration announced Tuesday that due to the new forecast the Chester Bridge, which connects Route 51 with Illinois Route 150 across the Mississippi River, will be reduced to one lane beginning Thursday.
The Kaskaskia River, jumped at least 3 feet into major flooding stages over the weekend. At New Athens, the river was at 85.29 feet on Friday, May 24, but crested at 88.84 feet on Tuesday. The NWS forecast does not forecast river levels for the Kaskaksia.
According to NWS data, this year’s flooding could also challenge the duration of the 1993 floods. This year, the river has been above flood stage near St. Louis for 73 consecutive days, while it was 98 days in 1993.
“This has definitely been a year for the record books,” Thomas Spriggs, a senior meteorologist for the St. Louis NWS office told the AP. “It’s certainly on the short list for worst (local) river flooding ever. It’s going to go on for a while longer yet.”
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 3:44 PM.
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