ST. LOUIS — The rain is ramping up late Tuesday morning. The heaviest rain will be through about 6 p.m. with rainfall quickly tapering to spotty showers early this evening. Additional rain of 1–3 inches is expected today.
In addition to the heavy rain this afternoon, there is a chance of a couple of severe storms and tornadoes southeast of the St. Louis region. The Level 2 (out of 5) risk area in Illinois is east and south of the Kaskaskia River.
Outside of the tornado threat, there is still some wind left in this tropical system, and it’s quite possible we will see wind gusts near 40 mph at times from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, although sustained winds will be more in the 15-25 mph range.
The location of the heavy rain today is likely to delay the dropping river levels on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, with only small new rises possible as a new crest builds in behind the last crest. The only moderate flooding that is currently forecast on any river is along the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, with minor flooding expected further south.
The smaller rivers have a stronger and more rapid influence from rain like this. For the moment, most of those rivers are also forecast to reach minor flood crests, but we need to monitor those closely for changes based on the location of today’s heavy rain.
The rest of the week will be mainly, but not totally dry. It does look like there is a slight chance for an afternoon storm or two Wednesday, Thursday and maybe even Friday.
