Flood forecasts keep getting worse
Since Sunday morning, the forecasts for many area rivers have been adjusted upward. And to make matters worse, additional rainfall (1 or 2 inches) appears likely for the middle of this week. Here is a roundup of area rivers as of Sunday evening at 10 PM:
Van Buren
The Current River appears to be cresting at Van Buren. It has reached 37.2 feet, obliterating the old record of 29 feet set in 1904. The damage at Van Buren could prove to be catastrophic.
Doniphan
At Doniphan, the Current River is currently at 30.43 and still rising. The forecast calls for the river to reach a whopping 36 feet, also far surpassing the 1904 record of 26.8 feet.
Black River
The Black River at Poplar Bluff is still expected to crest at 21.0 feet, not too far from the record of 22.15 feet set in 2008.
Fisk
The St. Francis River at Fisk, downstream from Lake Wappapello, is rising rapidly and is forecast to reach 28 feet, which would tie the previous record of 28.0 feet set during the infamous flood year of 1927.
Chester, IL
The forecast for the Mississippi River at Chester has been revised upward, and the river is now poised to reach 43.5 feet at mid-week. Although this is well short of the all-time record from 1993 (at 49.74 feet), this will still be a major headache.
During the last flood, Highway 51 leading to the Chester Bridge was closed, and that seems unavoidable this time too. The highway is barely passable already, as water was lapping across half of the pavement this afternoon. Road crews installed temporary traffic signals to guide traffic through the one lane that is still dry.
Cape Girardeau
Sunday morning the forecast for Cape Girardeau wasn't that awful, but since then the outlook has dramatically changed. Now the river is expected to crest at 48.5 feet on Saturday, which would put it only inches below the record-setting crest of last year (at 48.86 feet). It wouldn't take much to reach that level again.
Thebes, IL
In similar fashion, the river is poised to come within inches of last year's record-setting height at Thebes. The current forecast calls for a crest of 47.0 feet on Saturday, short of the 47.74 feet record. Just like last time, major problems in the Olive Branch/Miller City area appear unavoidable.
Valley Park, MO
Forecasts for the Meramec River are also getting uglier. The river has already set a new record crest at Steelville, and that surge of water is heading toward the suburbs of St. Louis. The Meramec at Valley Park is forecast to reach 43 feet, about a foot below the record of 44.11 from the last flood. This will easily force the closure of Interstate 44 there.
The only silver lining is that the current forecast suggests that Interstate 55 across the Meramec River at Arnold should remain open, unlike last time. But just barely.
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