Floods cause more road closures

The rain-swollen Mississippi River continued to slowly rise Sunday in Southeast Missouri, inconveniencing travelers and inundating farmland.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said floodwaters have closed roads in more than two dozen counties, with the largest concentration of closures in the east-central part of the state.

In Cape Girardeau, the Mississippi River climbed to 10 feet above flood stage Sunday, the National Weather Service said. According to the National Weather Service, river levels in Cape Girardeau rose past 42 feet Sunday, which is considered a "major" flooding level.

The weather service predicts the river will crest at 43.5 feet Tuesday afternoon, although it won't drop below 42 feet until sometime Friday.

Police said some roads just outside of Cape Girardeau were closed, and a stretch of Route 177 was partially under water.

Floodwaters have closed Highway 177 at the north edge of Cape Girardeau as seen Sunday.

Other roads closed in Southeast Missouri on Sunday because of flooding include:

Commerce on the Mississippi River continues despite flooding Sunday. The motor vessel Jeffrey G moves up the river under the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

• South Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau south of Highway 74 near the Diversion Channel
• Route E between Benton and Commerce in Scott County
• Route A in Perry County between of Altenburg and Wittenburg
• Route C in Perry County in Menfro
• Route E in Perry County near Cinque Hommes Creek
• U.S. 61 in Ste. Genevieve County in St. Mary and between St. Mary and Ste. Genevieve
• Route J in Ste. Genevieve County near U.S. 61

MoDOT provides up-to-date road closures at traveler.modot.org/map/.

The Mississippi River also was overflowing its banks in the town of Chester, Illinois, with waters there measured Sunday at 12 feet above flood stage. The river was expected to rise another foot before cresting Tuesday.

Water levels also were rising Sunday along the Meramec River, which flows into the Mississippi River near St. Louis.

Forecasts called for the Meramec to crest today in Arnold and Valley Park, causing low-lying areas including parks to flood.

Meanwhile, water levels were falling in most locations along the Missouri River, although minor to moderate flooding continues.

An especially wet spring is fueling the flooding, said Mark Britt, a National Weather Service meteorologist in St. Louis. Precipitation for the year was 3.62 inches above normal in the Kansas City area and 4.69 inches higher than usual in the St. Louis area.

"We've just seen a lot of rain the past week or so and that has caused the flooding that we are seeing," Britt said.

More stormy weather remained in the forecast, with the National Weather Service issuing severe thunderstorm warnings Sunday for about three dozen Missouri counties.

One storm cell that swept through the western part of the state Sunday afternoon temporarily knocked out power at Kansas City International Airport. Joe McBride, an airport spokesman, warned travelers of possible delays in a tweet.