The deluge that occurred earlier this week brought 7 to 10 inches of rain to the St. Louis area. All of this water had to go somewhere and now the creeks, streams and rivers are full, leading to several major rivers spilling over and flooding major roads and thoroughfares.
MoDOT closed Rt. 141 at I-44 Thursday morning due to rising flood waters. The closure is expected to remain throughout the weekend. During the closure, there will be limited access to eastbound and westbound I-44 from Route 141.
The Meramec River isn’t expected to crest until later in the week for Jefferson and St. Louis counties. A Flood Warning is in effect for the Meramec River until Sunday evening. The Meramec River at Valley Park and Eureka is expected to be above major flood stage at the end of the week, whereas the Meramec River at Arnold will reach minor flood stage late week.
The Meramec River spans 218 miles in Missouri, from its headwaters near Salem, Mo. meandering through 14 counties before emptying into the Mississippi River near Oakville and Arnold, Mo.
As of Thursday morning, the Meramec River was 26.88 feet at Valley Park, approaching major flood stage. It is forecasted to crest Friday at 29 feet, above major flood stage.
At 18 feet, the water reaches flood stage, and at 27 feet, it reaches a major flood stage. The record crest at Valley Park is Dec. 30, 2015, when it reached 44.11 feet.
Further west in Eureka, the river Thursday morning was already above major flood stage at 33.15 feet and was expected to crest late Thursday at 34.80 feet. Initially, the forecast for Eureka was expected higher and later but "due to the rapid drop in flow from the Big River cresting is forecasted for around midnight Friday and is coming in closer to 35 feet instead of the earlier predicted forecast of 37 feet," says NWS St. Louis Senior Hydrologist Mark Fuchs.
While the river is expected to crest high, it will be much lower than the record crest. The record crest for the Meramec in Eureka was 46.11 feet back in May 2017.
Another area along the river that is approaching moderate flood stage is in Pacific, where even at moderate flood stage, officials are urging residents located close to the river to prepare their properties and businesses for flooding and evacuate. The Meramec at Pacific, which as of Thursday morning was at moderate flood stage at 22.82 feet, is expected to crest early Friday at 26.20 feet.
The river at these locations will remain high through the weekend.
Flooding is already ongoing in parts of Jefferson and St. Louis counties, shutting down several roads.
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