River flooding, severe weather could dampen holiday weekend

As the rain-swollen Mississippi River climbed toward flood stage Friday at Cape Girardeau, the Main Street Levee District went into action.

Workers closed the gravity-flow storm drainage tunnel and started pumping operations at the Merriwether Street pumping station. When the river is high, the pumping operation prevents storm water from backing up in drainage pipes and spilling onto downtown streets.

"It will sound like the end of the world when the water comes out there," Main Street Levee District president Andy Juden said of the start of pumping operations.

The river is expected to rise above the flood stage of 32 feet on the gauge by today. The river is forecast to crest Tuesday at 37.5 feet.

Levee workers plan to close the Themis Street floodgate around 3 p.m. today. But those who still want a view of the river this Memorial Day weekend won't be disappointed. Cape Girardeau's Broadway Street floodgate is expected to remain open.

The Broadway gate doesn't close until 39 feet is reached on the gauge.

Memorial Day picnics today and Sunday could be threatened with thunderstorms, but there's little chance of rain on the holiday Monday, the National Weather Service reports.

"Our biggest concern is not so much whether or not it rains," said meteorologist Michael York with the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Ky. A bigger concern, he said, is the possibility of isolated tornadoes, particularly on Sunday afternoon into Sunday night.

"The month of May is typically our biggest severe weather month," York said. A deadly tornado raced through Marion, Ill., 22 years ago today. The storm killed 10 people, injured more than 100 and caused about $100 million in damage to homes and businesses.

The weather service forecast a 40 percent chance of rain today and a 50 percent chance on Sunday. On Monday, Memorial Day, the chance of rain is only 20 percent, York said.

Juden isn't worried about the possibility of rain locally. It's the heavy rains up north over the last week that have fueled flooding on the Mississippi River, he said.

Crests of a few feet above flood stage are expected over the next several days at towns along the Mississippi River as far north as southern Iowa. But few people seem worried. "We've been through it so many times we're just not too worried about it," said Cindy Hemmer, the city clerk in Winfield, Mo., a town of about 700 people about 40 miles north of St. Louis.

The biggest concern for river watchers is the threat of more rain. Scott Drummer, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service in St. Louis, said the ground is saturated. Creeks and tributaries are swollen.

"Most of that rain is going to go right into the river," he said.

Still, the water would have to get a lot higher to cause significant hardships.

The massive Mississippi River floods of 1993 and 1995 caused millions of dollars in damage, but also prompted the federal government to buy out thousands of properties in the flood plain. Bigger and stronger levees now protect many communities.

Locally, flooding is probably more of a concern for area farmers than Cape Girardeau residents who are protected by the floodwall, Juden said.

Alan Dooley of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said a concern with this flood is the amount of debris in the swift-flowing river. The Mississippi River didn't have any significant flooding over the last two years, allowing debris to pile up.

Now logs, limbs and trash are rushing swiftly downstream, posing a potential threat to those who plan to go boating on the river this holiday weekend, Dooley said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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