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More rain on the way

Posted Monday, May 1, 2017, at 4:05 PM

Yet another round of heavy rain is poised to arrive Wednesday and Thursday. Although not as insane as the last storm, this next system could easily drop widespread 1.5+ inch totals across Southeast Missouri, and perhaps even 3+ inch totals to the north around St. Louis. This map from the NWS Weather Prediction Center shows estimated rainfall totals over the next 5 days by taking a consensus of the computer models:

One particular computer model run, today's 12Z GFS, is very bullish about precip amounts, painting widespread 3-4 inch totals from Sikeston north to St. Louis. This appears to be a worst case scenario, as other computer models aren't as bad. But anything can happen.

With the ground so saturated, it wouldn't take much to produce another round of flash flooding. And any additional rainfall will raise the level of those rivers that haven't crested by then, especially the Mississippi River.

Chester, IL

The Mississippi at Chester is still forecast to crest at 43.5 feet on Thursday afternoon, but this could be revised upward depending on how much rain we get.

Cape Girardeau

Likewise, the forecast for Cape Girardeau remains unchanged for now (48.5 feet on Saturday morning), but could easily change in the future. The predicted crest would be only 4 inches below the record set on January 2 of last year.

Van Buren

The Current River at Van Buren crested at 37.2 feet, setting a new record that is 8.2 feet higher than the previous record that has stood since 1904.

Doniphan

At Doniphan, the Current River crested at 33.13 feet. This is 6.33 feet above the old record.

Poplar Bluff

The Black River at Poplar Bluff is just now cresting, having reached 21.96 feet. That's only a couple inches lower than the record of 22.15 set in 2008.

Clearwater Lake

Clearwater Lake (Black River) is currently at 566.83 feet and is forecast to crest at 571.2 feet on Wednesday. This will force water across the overflow spillway. The previous record high was 566.60 feet set in 2002.

Wappapello Lake

Wappapello Lake (St. Francis River) has jumped to 396.57 feet, easily overtopping the auxiliary spillway at 394.74 feet.