News

Greater flood risk with Hurricane Beryl coming

The National Weather Service says the flood risk is expected to be elevated through mid-week along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, in the Eastern Corn Belt and Delta region.

Hydrologist Mark Fuchs with the National Weather Service in St. Louis says flooding along major rivers continue due to the heavy rains that fell in the Upper Midwest in late June.

“If it wasn’t for the historic flooding along the Minnesota and Iowa border, we wouldn’t be seeing the flooding here locally. We had significant rain across Missouri and Illinois in the last week and it added to the wave of water coming down the river.”

He says minor flooding and moderate river crests are expected to take place north of the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers this week and then, the waters will start to recede.

But Fuchs says it might take longer for high river levels to recede south of that point. Hurricane Beryl is expected to bring more moisture to the Delta and portions of the Corn Belt this week.

Hydrologist Mary Lamm with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky says rain estimates with Hurricane Beryl continue to change, but the Missouri Ozarks will be hit hard with rain. And some of the biggest flash flood risks are along the smaller rivers.

“Rivers including the Current, Black and St. Francis, I think we could see rapid rises on them. I’m not sure about heights right now, because it depends on where the rains fall.”

Lamm encourages farmers and ranchers to stay tuned throughout the next 48 hours for more details, because she says the situation can always change.

“A tropical system throws things out of whack, but we can also see the rivers fall quickly if we don’t see other rain behind this. There’s a cool down expected on Thursday, but if as we start heading into the weekend, temperatures will be headed into the 90s with higher humidity.”

The National Weather Service has a flood watch in effect stretching across southwest Arkansas into northeast Kentucky, Illinois and southeast Indiana through Wednesday.